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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 

iiiiiiiiir 

00022092343 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00022092343 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/historyofdariusgabbo 


Jiiiliof  T.  SvaeLair,  ThiZ* 


HISTORY 


DARIUS   THE    GREAT 


BY  JACOB  ABBOTT. 


®2nti)  JEnQtuWnQH. 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,   PUBLISHERS, 

82     BEEKMAN     STREET. 
18  54. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty,  by 

Harper  &  Brothers, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New  Yr.rk. 


PREFACE. 


In  describing  the  character  and  trie  action  of 
the  personages  whose  histories  form  the  subjects 
of  this  series,  the  writer  makes  no  attempt  to 
darken  the  colors  in  which  he  depicts  their 
deeds  of  violence  and  wrong,  or  to  increase,  by 
indignant  denunciations,  the  obloquy  which  he- 
roes and  conquerors  have  so  often  brought  upon 
themselves,  in  the  estimation  of  mankind,  by 
their  ambition,  their  tyranny,  or  their  desperate 
and  reckless  crimes.  In  fact,  it  seems  desirable 
to  diminish,  rather  than  to  increase,  the  spirit 
of  censoriousness  which  often  leads  men  so 
harshly  to  condemn  the  errors  and  sins  of  oth- 
ers, committed  in  circumstances  of  temptation 
to  which  they  themselves  were  never  exposed. 
Besides,  to  denounce  or  vituperate  guilt,  in  a 
narrative  of  the  transactions  in  which  it  was 
displayed,  has  little  influence  in  awakening  a 
healthy  sensitiveness  in  the  conscience  of  the 
reader.  We  observe,  accordingly,  that  in  the 
narratives  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  such  denun- 
ciations are  seldom  found.      The  story  of  Absa- 


vi  Preface. 

lom's  undutifulness  and  rebellion,  of  David's 
adultery  and  murder,  of  Herod's  tyranny,  and 
all  other  narratives  of  crime,  are  related  in  a 
calm,  simple,  impartial,  and  forbearing  spirit, 
which  leads  us  to  condemn  the  sins,  but  not  to 
feel  a  pharisaical  resentment  and  wrath  against 
the  sinner. 

This  example,  so  obviously  proper  and  right, 
the  writer  of  this  series  has  made  it  his  endeav- 
or in  all  respects  to  follow. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  Page 

I.  CAMBYSES 13 

II. .  THE  END    OF    CAMBYSES 38 

III.  SMERDIS   THE    MAGIAN 59 

IV.  THE  ACCESSION    OF    DARIUS 82 

V.  THE  PROVINCES 99 

VI.  THE  RECONNOITERING  OF    GREECE 123 

VII.  THE  REVOLT  OF    BABYLON.  . 144 

VIII.  THE  INVASION    OF    SCYTHIA 167 

IX.  THE  RETREAT    FROM    SCYTHIA 189 

X.  THE  STORY  OF   HISTLEUS 210 

XI.  THE  INVASION   OF  GREECE 233 

XH.  THE  DEATH   OF    DARIUS 264 


ENGRAVINGS. 


Page 
MAP    OF    THE    PERSIAN    EMPIRE. 

darius  crossing  the  Bosporus Frontispiece. 

THE    ARMY  OF    CAMBYSES    OVERWHELMED    IN    THE 

DESERT 35 

PH^DYMA    FEELING    FOR    SMERDIs's    EARS 69 

THE    INDIAN    GOLD    HUNTERS 121 

THE    BABYLONIANS    DERDDING    DARHJS    FROM    THE 

WALL 156 

MAP    OF    GREECE 232 

THE   INVASION   OF    GREECE 256 


DARIUS  THE  GREAT. 


Chapter  I. 
Cambyses. 


Cyrus  the  Great.  His  extended  conquests. 

A  BOUT  five  or  six  hundred  years  before 
-£*-  Christ,  almost  the  whole  of  the  interior 
of  Asia  was  united  in  one  vast  empire.  The 
founder  of  this  empire  was  Cyrus  the  Great. 
He  was  originally  a  Persian;  and  the  whole 
empire  is  often  called  the  Persian  monarchy, 
taking  its  name  from  its  founder's  native  land. 
Cyrus  was  not  contented  with  having  an- 
nexed to  his  dominion  all  the  civilized  states 
of  Asia.  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  he  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  there  might  possibly  be 
some  additional  glory  and  power  to  be  acquired 
in  subduing  certain  half-savage  regions  in  the 
north,  beyond  the  Araxes.  He  accordingly 
raised  an  army,  and  set  off  on  an  expedition 
for  this  purpose,  against  a  country  which  was 
governed  by  a  barbarian  queen  named  Tomyris. 
He  met  with  a  variety  of  adventures  on  tins 


14  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 530. 

Cambyses  and  Smerdis.  Hystaspes  and  Darius. 

expedition,  all  of  which  are  fully  detailed  in  our 
history  of  Cyrus.  There  is,  however,  only  one 
occurrence  that  it  is  necessary  to  allude  to  par- 
ticularly here.  That  one  relates  to  a  remark- 
able dream  which  he  had  one  night,  just  after 
he  had  crossed  the  river. 

To  explain  properly  the  nature  of  this  dream, 
it  is  necessary  first  to  state  that  Cyrus  had  two 
sons.  Their  names  were  Cambyses  and  Smer- 
dis. He  had  left  them  in  Persia  when  he  set 
out  on  his  expedition  across  the  Araxes.  There 
was  also  a  young  man,  then  about  twenty  years 
of  age,  in  one  of  his  capitals,  named  Darius.  He 
was  the  son  of  one  of  the  nobles  of  Cyrus's  court. 
His  father's  name  was  Hystaspes.  Hystaspes, 
besides  being  a  noble  of  the  court,  was  also,  as 
almost  all  nobles  were  in  those  days,  an  officer 
of  the  army.  He  accompanied  Cyrus  in  his 
march  into  the  territories  of  the  barbarian  queen, 
and  was  with  him  there,  in  camp,  at  the  time 
when  this  narrative  commences. 

Cyrus,  it  seems,  felt  some  misgivings  in  re- 
spect to  the  result  of  his  enterprise ;  and,  in 
order  to  insure  the  tranquillity  of  his  empire  du- 
ring his  absence,  and  the  secure  transmission 
of  his  power  to  his  rightful  successor  in  case  he 
should  never  return,  he  established  his  son  Cam- 


B.C.  530.]  Cambyses.  15 

Dream  of  Cyrus.  _  His  anxiety  and  fears. 

byses  as  regent  of  his  realms  before  he  crossed 
the  Araxes,  and  delivered  the  government  of 
the  empire,  with  great  formality,  into  his  hands. 
This  took  place  upon  the  frontier,  just  before 
the  army  passed  the  river.  The  mind  of  a 
father,  under  such  circumstances,  would  natu- 
rally be  occupied,  in  some  degree,  with  thoughts 
relating  to  the  arrangements  which  his  son 
would  make,  and  to  the  difficulties  he  would 
be  likely  to  encounter  in  managing  the  moment- 
ous concerns  which  had  been  committed  to  his 
charge.  The  mind  of  Cyrus  was  undoubtedly 
so  occupied,  and  this,  probably,  was  the  origin 
of  the  remarkable  dream. 

His  dream  was,  that  Darius  appeared  to  him 
in  a  vision,  with  vast  wings  growing  from  his 
shoulders.  Darius  stood,  in  the  vision,  on  the 
confines  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and  his  wings, 
expanded  either  way,  overshadowed  the  whole 
known  world.  When  Cyrus  awoke  and  re- 
flected on  this  ominous  dream,  it  seemed  to 
him  to  portend  some  great  danger  to  the  fu- 
ture security  of  his  empire.  It  appeared  to 
denote  that  Darius  was  one  day  to  bear  sway 
over  all  the  world.  Perhaps  he  might  be  even 
then  forming  ambitious  and  treasonable  designs. 
Cyrus    immediately  sent    for  Hystaspes,   the 


16  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 530. 

Accession  of  Cambyses.  War  with  Egypt. 

father  of  Darius ;  when  he  came  to  his  tent, 
he  commanded  him  to  go  back  to  Persia,  and 
keep  a  strict  watch  over  the  conduct  of  his  son 
until  he  himself  should  return.  Hystaspes  re- 
ceived this  commission,  and  departed  to  execute 
it;  and  Cyrus,  somewhat  relieved,  perhaps,  of 
his  anxiety  by  this  measure  of  precaution,  went 
on  with  his  army  toward  his  place  of  destina- 
tion. 

Cyrus  never  returned.  He  was  killed  in  bat- 
tle ;  and  it  would  seem  that,  though  the  import 
of  his  dream  was  ultimately  fulfilled,  Darius 
was  not,  at  that  time,  meditating  any  schemes 
of  obtaining  possession  of  the  throne,  for  he 
made  no  attempt  to  interfere  with  the  regular 
transmission  of  the  imperial  power  from  Cy- 
rus to  Cambyses  his  son.  At  any  rate,  it  was 
so  transmitted.  The  tidings  of  Cyrus's  death 
came  to  the  capital,  and  Cambyses,  his  son, 
reigned  in  his  stead. 

The  great  event  of  the  reign  of  Cambyses  was 
a  war  with  Egypt,  which  originated  in  the  fol- 
lowing very  singular  manner : 

It  has  been  found,  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  that 
there  is  some  peculiar  quality  of  the  soil,  or 
climate,  or  atmosphere  of  Egypt  which  tends  to 
produce  an  inflammation  of  the  eyes.     The  in- 


B.C.  530.]  Cambyses.  17 

Origin  of  the  war  with  Egypt.  Ophthalmia. 

habitants  themselves  have  at  all  times  been 
very  subject  to  this  disease,  and  foreign  armies 
marching  into  the  country  are  always  very  seri- 
ously affected  by  it.  Thousands  of  soldiers  in 
such  armies  are  sometimes  disabled  from  this 
cause,  and  many  are  made  incurably  blind. 
Now  a  country  which  produces  a  disease  in  its 
worst  form  and  degree,  will  produce  also,  gen- 
erally, the  best  physicians  for  that  disease.  At 
any  rate,  this  was  supposed  to  be  the  case  in 
ancient  times  ;  and  accordingly,  when  any  pow- 
erful potentate  in  those  days  was  afflicted  him- 
self with  ophthalmia,  or  had  such  a  case  in  his 
family,  Egypt  was  the  country  to  send  to  for  a 
physician. 

Now  it  happened  that  Cyrus  himself,  at  one 
time  in  the  course  of  his  life,  was  attacked  with 
this  disease,  and  he  dispatched  an  embassador 
to  Amasis,  who.  was  then  king  of  Egypt,  asking 
him  to  send  him  a  physician.  Amasis,  who, 
like  all  the  other  absolute  sovereigns  of  those 
days,  regarded  his  subjects  as  slaves  that  were 
in  all  respects  entirely  at  his  disposal,  selected 
a  physician  of  distinction  from  among  the  at- 
tendants about  his  court,  and  ordered  him  to 
repair  to  Persia.  The  physician  was  extremely 
reluctant  to  go.  He  had  a  wife  and  family, 
B 


18  Darius    the    Great.   [B.C.  530. 

The  Egyptian  physician.  His  plan  of  revenge. 

from  whom  he  was  very  unwilling  to  be  sepa- 
rated ;  but  the  orders  were  imperative,  and  he 
must  obey.  He  set  out  on  the  journey,  there- 
fore, but  he  secretly  resolved  to  devise  some 
mode  of  revenging  himself  on  the  king  for  the 
cruelty  of  sending  him. 

He  was  well  received  by  Cyrus,  and,  either 
by  his  skill  as  a  physician,  or  from  other  causes, 
he  acquired  great  influence  at  the  Persian  court. 
At  last  he  contrived  a  mode  of  revenging  him- 
self on  the  Egyptian  king  for  having  exiled  him 
from  his  native  land.  The  king  had  a  daugh- 
ter, who  was  a  lady  of  great  beauty.  Her  fa- 
ther was  very  strongly  attached  to  her.  The 
physician  recommended  to  Cyrus  to  send  to 
Amasis  and  demand  this  daughter  in  marriage. 
As,  however,  Cyrus  was  already  married,  the 
Egyptian  princess  would,  if  she  came,  be  his 
concubine  rather  than  his  wife,  or,  if  considered 
a  wife,  it  could  only  be  a  secondary  and  subor- 
dinate place  that  she  could  occupy.  The  phy- 
sician knew  that,  under  these  circumstances, 
the  King  of  Egypt  would  be  extremely  unwill- 
ing to  send  her  to  Cyrus,  while  he  would  yet 
scarcely  dare  to  refuse ;  and  the  hope  of  plung- 
ing him  into  extreme  embarrassment  and  dis- 
tress, by  means  of  such  a  demand  from  so  pow- 


B.C.  530.]  Cambyses.  19 

Demand  of  Cyrus.  Stratagem  of  the  King  of  Egypt. 

erful  a  sovereign,  was  the  motive  which  led  the 
physician  to  recommend  the  measure. 

Cyrus  was  pleased  with  the  proposal,  and 
sent,  accordingly,  to  make  the  demand.  The 
king,  as  the  physician  had  anticipated,  could 
not  endure  to  part  with  his  daughter  in  such  a 
way,  nor  did  he,  on  the  other  hand,  dare  to  in- 
cur the  displeasure  of  so  powerful  a  monarch  hy 
a  direct  and  open  refusal.  He  finally  resolved 
upon  escaping  from  the  difficulty  hy  a  stratagem. 

There  was  a  young  and  beautiful  captive 
princess  in  his  court  named  Nitetis.  Her  fa- 
ther, whose  name  was  Aprils,  had  been  formerly 
the  King  of  Egypt,  but  he  had  been  dethroned 
and  killed  by  Amasis.  Since  the  downfall  of 
her  family,  Nitetis  had  been  a  captive ;  but,  as 
she  was  very  beautiful  and  very  accomplished, 
Amasis  conceived  the  desisni  of  sending  her  to 
Cyrus,  under  the  pretense  that  she  was  the 
daughter  whom  Cyrus  had  demanded.  He  ac- 
cordingly brought  her  forth,  provided  her  with 
the  most  costly  and  splendid  dresses,  loaded  her 
with  presents,  ordered  a  large  retinue  to  attend 
her,  and  sent  her  forth  to  Persia. 

Cyrus  was  at  first  very  much  pleased  with 
his  new  bride.  Nitetis  became,  in  fact,  his  prin- 
cipal favorite ;  though,  of  course,  Ms  other  wife, 


20  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  530. 

Resentment  of  Cassandane.  Threats  of  Cambyses. 

whose  name  was  Cassandane,  and  her  children, 
Cambyses  and  Smerdis,  were  jealous  of  her,  and 
hated  her.  One  day,  a  Persian  lady  was  visit- 
ing at  the  court,  and  as  she  was  standing  near 
Cassandane,  and  saw  her  two  sons,  who  were 
then  tall  and  handsome  young  men,  she  ex- 
pressed her  admiration  of  them,  and  said  to 
Cassandane,  "  How  proud  and  happy  you  must 
he  !"  "  No,"  said  Cassandane ;  "  on  the  con- 
trary, I  am  very  miserable  ;  for,  though  I  am 
the  mother  of  these  children,  the  king  neglects 
and  despises  me.  All  his  kindness  is  bestowed 
on  this  Egyptian  woman."  Cambyses,  who 
heard  this  conversation,  sympathized  deeply 
with  Cassandane  in  her  resentment.  "Moth- 
er," said  he,  "  be  patient,  and  I  will  avenge  you. 
As  soon  as  I  am  king,  I  will  go  to  Egypt  and 
turn  the  whole  country  upside  down." 

In  fact,  the  tendency  which  there  was  in  the 
mind  of  Cambyses  to  look  upon  Egypt  as  the 
first  field  of  war  and  conquest  for  him,  so  soon 
as  he  should  succeed  to  the  throne,  was  encour- 
aged by  the  influence  of  his  father  ;  for  Cyrus, 
although  he  was  much  captivated  by  the  charms 
of  the  lady  whom  the  King  of  Egypt  had  sent 
him,  Was  greatly  incensed  against  the  king  for 
having  practiced  upon  him  such  a  deception. 


B.C.  530.]  Cambyses.  21 

Future  conquests.  Temperament  and  character  of  Cambyses. 

Besides,  all  the  important  countries  in  Asia 
were  already  included  within  the  Persian  do- 
minions. It  was  plain  that  if  any  future  prog- 
ress were  to  he  made  in  extending  the  empire, 
the  regions  of  Europe  and  Africa  must  he  the 
theatre  of  it.  Egypt  seemed  the  most  accessi- 
hle  and  vulnera hie  point  heyond  the  confines  of 
Asia;  and  thus,  though  Cyrus  himself,  heing 
advanced  somewhat  in  years,  and  interested, 
moreover,  in  other  projects,  was  not  prepared  to 
undertake  an  enterprise  into  Africa  himself,  he 
was  very  willing  that  such  plans  should  he  cher- 
ished hy  his  son. 

Camhyses  was  an  ardent,  impetuous,  and 
self-willed  hoy,  such  as  the  sons  of  rich  and 
powerful  men  are  very  apt  to  hecome.  They 
imbibe,  hy  a  sort  of  sympathy,  the  ambitious 
and  aspiring  spirit  of  their  fathers  ;  and  as  all 
their  childish  caprices  and  passions  are  general- 
ly indulged,  they  never  learn  to  submit  to  con- 
trol. They  become  vain,  self-conceited,  reck- 
less, and  cruel.  The  conqueror  who  founds  an 
empire,  although  even  his  character  generally 
deteriorates  very  seriously  toward  the  close  of 
his  career,  still  usually  knows  something  of 
moderation  and  generosity.  His  son,  however, 
who  inherits  his  father's  power,  seldom  inherits 


22  Darius   the    (treat.  [B.C.  527. 

Impetuosity  of  Cambyses.  Preparations  for  the  Egyptian  war. 

the  virtues  by  which  the  power  was  acquired. 
These  truths,  which  we  see  continually  exem- 
plified all  around  us,  on  a  small  scale,  in  the 
families  of  the  wealthy  and  the  powerful,  were 
illustrated  most  conspicuously,  in  the  view  of 
all  mankind,  in  the  case  of  Cyrus  and  Camby- 
ses. The  father  was  prudent,  cautious,  wise, 
and  often  generous  and  forbearing.  The  son 
grew  up  headstrong,  impetuous,  uncontrolled, 
and  uncontrollable.  He  had  the  most  lofty 
ideas  of  his  own  greatness  and  power,  and  he 
felt  a  supreme  contempt  for  the  rights,  and  in- 
difference to  the  happiness  of  all  the  world  be- 
sides. His  history  gives  us  an  illustration  of 
the  worst  which  the  principle  of  hereditary  sov- 
ereignty can  do,  as  the  best  is  exemplified  in 
the  case  of  Alfred  of  England. 

Cambyses,  immediately  after  his  father's 
death,  began  to  make  arrangements  for  the 
Egyptian  invasion.  The  first  thing  to  be  de- 
termined was  the  mode  of  transporting  his  ar- 
mies thither.  Egypt  is  a  long  and  narrow  val- 
ley, with  the  rocks  and  deserts  of  Arabia  on  one 
side,  and  those  of  Sahara  on  the  other.  There 
is  no  convenient  mode  of  access  to  it  except  by 
sea,  and  Cambyses  had  no  naval  force  sufficient 
for  a  maritime  expedition. 


B.C.  527.]  Cambyses.  23 

Desertion  of  Phanes.  His  narrow  escape. 

"While  he  was  revolving  the  subject  in  his 
mind,  there  arrived  in  his  capital  of  Susa,  where 
he  was  then  residing,  a  deserter  from  the  army 
of  Amasis  in  Egypt.  The  name  of  this  desert- 
er was  Phanes.  He  was  a  Greek,  having  been 
the  commander  of  a  body  of  Grreek  troops  who 
were  employed  by  Amasis  as  auxiliaries  in  his 
army.  He  had  had  a  quarrel  with  Amasis,  and 
had  fled  to  Persia,  intending  to  join  Cambyses 
in  the  expedition  which  he  was  contemplating, 
in  order  to  revenge  himself  on  the  Egyptian 
king.  Phanes  said,  in  telling  his  story,  that  he 
had  had  a  very  narrow  escape  from  Egypt ;  for, 
as  soon  as  Amasis  had  heard  that  he  had  fled, 
he  dispatched  one  of  his  swiftest  vessels,  a  gal- 
ley of  three  banks  of  oars,  in  hot  pursuit  of  the 
fugitive.  The  galley  overtook  the  vessel  in 
which  Phanes  had  taken  passage  just  as  it  was 
landing  in  Asia  Minor.  The  Egyptian  officers 
seized  it  and  made  Phanes  prisoner.  They  im- 
mediately began  to  make  their  preparations  for 
the  return  voyage,  putting  Phanes,  in  the  mean 
time,  under  the  charge  of  guards,  who  were  in- 
structed to  keep  him  very  safely.  Phanes, 
however,  cultivated  a  good  understanding  with 
his  guards,  and  presently  invited  them  to  drink 
wine  with  him.     In  the  end,  he  got  them  intox- 


24  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  527. 

Information  given  by  Phanes.  Treaty  with  the  Arabian  king. 

icated,  and  while  they  were  in  that  state  he 
made  his  escape  from  them,  and  then,  traveling 
with  great  secrecy  and  caution  until  he  was  be- 
yond their  reach,  he  succeeded  in  making  his 
way  +o  Cambyses  in  Susa. 

Phanes  gave  Cambyses  a  great  deal  of  in- 
formation in  respect  to  the  geography  of  Egypt, 
the  proper  points  of  attack,  the  character  and 
resources  of  the  king,  and  communicated,  like- 
wise, a  great  many  other  particulars  which  it 
was  very  important  that  Cambyses  should  know. 
He  recommended  that  Cambyses  should  proceed 
to  Egypt  by  land,  through  Arabia ;  and  that,  in 
order  to  secure  a  safe  passage,  he  should  send  first 
to  the  King  of  the  Arabs,  by  a  formal  embassy, 
asking  permission  to  cross  his  territories  with  an 
army,  and  engaging  the  Arabians  to  aid  him,  if 
possible,  in  the  transit.  Cambyses  did  this. 
The  Arabs  were  very  willing  to  join  in  any  pro- 
jected hostilities  against  the  Egyptians;  they 
offered  Cambyses~a  free  passage,  and  agreed  to 
aid  his  army  on  iiheir  march.  To  the  faithful 
fulfillment  of  these  stipulations  the  Arab  chief 
bound  himself  by  a  treaty,  executed  with  the 
most  solemn  forms  and  ceremonies. 

The  great  difficulty  to  be  encountered  in 
traversing  the  deserts  which  Cambyses  would 


B.C.  526.]  Cambyses.  25 

Plan  for  providing  water.  Account  of  Herodotus. 

have  to  cross  on  his  way  to  Egypt  was  the 
want  of  water.  To  provide  for  this  necessity, 
the  king  of  the  Arabs  sent,  a  vast  number  of 
camels  into  the  desert,  laden  with  great  sacks 
or  bags  full  of  water.  These  camels  were  sent 
forward  just  before  the  army  of  Cambyses  came 
on,  and  they  deposited  their  supplies  along  the 
route  at  the  points  where  they  would  be  most 
needed.  Herodotus,  the  Grreek  traveler,  who 
made  a  journey  into  Egypt  not  a  great  many 
years  after  these  transactions,  and  who  wrote 
subsequently  a  full  description  of  what  he  saw 
and  heard  there,  gives  an  account  of  another 
method  by  which  the  Arab  king  was  said  to 
have  conveyed  water  into  the  desert,  and  that 
was  by  a  canal  or  pipe,  made  of  the  skins  of 
oxen,  which  he  laid  along  the  ground,  from  a 
certain  river  of  his  dominions,  to  a  distance  of 
twelve  days'  journey  over  the  sands!  This 
story  Herodotus  says  he  did  not  believe,  though 
elsewhere  in  the  course  of  his  history  he  gravely 
relates,  as  true  history,  a  thousand  tales  infi- 
nitely more  improbable  than  the  idea  of  a  leath- 
ern pipe  or  hose  like  this  to  serve  for  a  conduit 
of  water. 

By  some  means  or  other,  at  all  events,  the 
Arab  chief  provided  supplies  of  water  in  the 


26  Darius  the  G-reat.   [B.C. 526. 

A  great  battle.  Defeat  of  the  Egyptians. 

desert  for  Cambyses's  army,  and  the  troops  made 
the  passage  safely.  They  arrived,  at  length,  on 
the  frontiers  of  Egypt.*  Here  they  found  that 
Amasis,  the  king,  was  dead,  and  Psammeni- 
tus,  his  son,  had  succeeded  him.  Psammenitus 
came  forward  to  meet  the  invaders.  A  great 
battle  was  fought.  The  Egyptians  were  rout- 
ed. Psammenitus  fled  up  the  Nile  to  the  city 
of  Memphis,  taking  with  him  such  broken  rem- 
nants of  his  army  as  he  could  get  together  after 
the  battle,  and  feeling  extremely  incensed  and 
exasperated  against  the  invader.  In  fact,  Cam- 
byses  had  now  no  excuse  or  pretext  whatever 
for  waging  such  a  war  against  Egypt.  The 
monarch  who  had  deceived  his  father  was  dead, 
and  there  had  never  been  any  cause  of  com- 
plaint against  his  son  or  against  the  Egyptian 
people.  Psammenitus,  therefore,  regarded  the 
invasion  of  Egypt  by  Carr^byses  as  a  wanton 
and  wholly  unjustifiable  aggression,  and  he  de- 
termined, in  his  own  mind,  that  such  invaders 
deserved  no  mercy,  and  that  he  would  show 
them  none.  Soon  after  this,  a  galley  on  the 
river,  belonging  to  Cambyses,  containing  a  crew 

*  For  the  places  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  and  the  track 
of  Cambyses  on  his  expedition,  see  the  map  at  the  com- 
mencement of  this  volume. 


B.C.  526.]  Cambyses.  27 

Inhuman  conduct  of  Cambyses.  His  treatment  of  Psammenitus. 

of  two  hundred  men,  fell  into  his  hands.  The 
Egyptians,  in  their  rage,  tore  these  Persians  all 
to  pieces.  This  exasperated  Cambyses  in  his 
turn>  and  the  war  went  on,  attended  by  the 
most  atrocious  cruelties  on  both  sides. 

In  fact,  Cambyses,  in  this  Egyptian  cam- 
paign, pursued  such  a  career  of  inhuman  and 
reckless  folly,  that  people  at  last  considered  him 
insane.  He  began  with  some  small  semblance 
of  moderation,  but  he  proceeded,  in  the  end,  to 
the  perpetration  of  the  most  terrible  excesses  of 
violence  and  wrong. 

As  to  his  moderation,  his  treatment  of  Psam- 
menitus personally  is  almost  the  only  instance 
that  we  can  record.  In  the  course  of  the  war, 
Psammenitus  and  all  his  family  fell  into  Cam- 
byses's  hands  as  captives.  A  few  days  after- 
ward, Cambyses  conducted  the  unhappy  king 
without  the  gates  of  the  city  to  exhibit  a  spec- 
tacle to  him.  The  spectacle  was  that  of  his 
beloved  daughter,  clothed  in  the  garments  of  a 
slave,  and  attended  by  a  company  of  other 
maidens,  the  daughters  of  the  nobles  and  other 
persons  of  distinction  belonging  to  his  court,  all 
going  down  to  the  river,  with  heavy  jugs,  to 
draw  water.  The  fathers  of  all  these  hapless 
maidens  had  been  brought  out  with  Psamme- 


28  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  526. 

The  train  of  captive  maidens.  The  young  men. 

nitus  to  witness  the  degradation  and  misery  of 
their  children.  The  maidens  cried  and  sobbed 
aloud  as  they  went  along,  overwhelmed  with 
shame  and  terror.  Their  fathers  manifested 
the  utmost  agitation  and  distress.  Cambyses 
stood  smiling  by,  highly  enjoying  the  spectacle. 
Psammenitus  alone  appeared  unmoved.  He 
gazed  on  the  scene  silent,  motionless,  and  with 
a  countenance  which  indicated  no  active  suffer- 
ing ;  he  seemed  to  be  in  a  state  of  stupefaction 
and  despair.  Cambyses  was  disappointed,  and 
his  pleasure  was  marred  at  finding  that  his  vic- 
tim did  not  feel  more  acutely  the  sting  of  the 
torment  with  which  he  was  endeavoring  to 
goad  him. 

When  this  train  had  gone  by,  another  came. 
It  was  a  company  of  young  men,  with  halters 
about  their  necks,  going  to  execution.  Cam- 
byses had  ordered  that  for  every  one  of  the  crew 
of  his  galley  that  the  Egyptians  had  killed,  ten 
Egyptians  should  be  executed.  This  propor- 
tion would  require  two  thousand  victims,  as 
there  had  been  two  hundred  in  the  crew.  These 
victims  were  to  be  selected  from  among  the 
sons  of  the  leading  families ;  and  their  parents, 
after  having  seen  their  delicate  and  gentle 
daughters  go  to  their  servile  toil,  were  now 


B.C.  524]  Cambyses.  29 

Scenes  of  distress  and  suffering.  Composure  of  Psammenitus. 

next  to  behold  their  sons  march  in  a  long  and 
terrible  array  to  execution.  The  son  of  Psam- 
menitus was  at  the  head  of  the  column.  The 
Egyptian  parents  who  stood  around  Psamme- 
nitus wept  and  lamented  aloud,  as  one  after 
another  saw  his  own  child  in  the  train.  Psam- 
menitus himself,  however,  remained  as  silent 
and  motionless,  and  with  a  countenance  as  va- 
cant as  before.  Cambyses  was  again  disap- 
pointed. The  pleasure  which  the  exhibition 
afforded  him  was  incomplete  without  visible 
manifestations  of  suffering  in  the  victim  for 
whose  torture  it  was  principally  designed. 

After  this  train  of  captives  had  passed,  there 
came  a  mixed  collection  of  wretched  and  mis- 
erable men,  such  as  the  siege  and  sacking  of 
a  city  always  produces  in  countless  numbers. 
Among  these  was  a  venerable  man  whom  Psam- 
menitus recognized  as  one  of  his  friends.  He 
had  been  a  man  of  wealth  and  high  station  ;  he 
had  often  been  at  the  court  of  the  king,  and  had 
been  entertained  at  his  table.  He  was  now, 
however,  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  of  dis- 
tress, and  was  begging  of  the  people  something 
to  keep  him  from  starving.  The  sight  of  this 
man  in  such  a  condition  seemed  to  awaken  the 
king  from  his  blank  and  death-like  despair.     He 


30  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  524. 

Feelings  of  the  father.  His  explanation  of  them. 

called  his  old  friend  by  name  in  a  tone  of  aston- 
ishment and  pity,  and  burst  into  tears. 

Cambyses,  observing  this,  sent  a  messenger  to 
Psammenitus  to  inquire  what  it  meant.  "  He 
wishes  to  know,"  said  the  messenger,  "  how  it 
happens  that  you  could  see  your  own  daughter 
set  at  work  as  a  slave,  and  your  son  led  away 
to  execution  unmoved,  and  yet  feel  so  much 
commiseration  for  the  misfortunes  of  a  stran- 
ger." We  might  suppose  that  any  one  possess- 
ing the  ordinary  susceptibilities  of  the  human 
soul  would  have  understood  without  an  explan- 
ation the  meaning  of  this,  though  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  such  a  heartless  monster  as  Cam- 
byses did  not  comprehend  it.  Psammenitus 
sent  him  word  that  he  could  not  help  weeping 
for  his  friend,  but  that  his  distress  and  anguish 
on  account  of  his  children  were  too  great  for 
tears. 

The  Persians  who  were  around  Cambyses 
began  now  to  feel  a  strong  sentiment  of  com- 
passion for  the  unhappy  king,  and  to  intercede 
with  Cambyses  in  his  favor.  They  begged  him, 
too,  to  spare  Psammenitus's  son.  It  will  in- 
terest those  of  our  readers  who  have  perused 
our  history  of  Cyrus  to  know  that  Croesus,  the 
captive  king  of  Lydia,  whom  they  will  recollect 


B.C.  524.]  Cambyses.  31 

Cambyses  relents.  His  treatment  of  the  body  of  Amasis. 

to  have  been  committed  to  Cambyses's  charge 
by  his  father,  just  before  the  close  of  his  life, 
w.hen  he  was  setting  forth  on  his  last  fatal  ex- 
pedition, and  who  accompanied  Cambyses  on 
this  invasion  of  Egypt,  was  present  on  this  oc- 
casion, and  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  inter- 
ceders  in  Psammenitus's  favor.  Cambyses  al- 
lowed himself  to  be  persuaded.  They  sent  off 
a  messenger  to  order  the  execution  of  the  king's 
son  to  be  stayed  ;  but  he  arrived  too  late.  The 
unhappy  prince  had  already  fallen.  Cambyses 
was  so  far  appeased  by  the  influence  of  these 
facts,  that  he  abstained  from  doing  Psammeni- 
tus  or  his  family  any  further  injury. 

He,  however,  advanced  up  the  Nile,  ravaging 
and  plundering  the  country  as  he  went  on,  and 
at  length,  in  the  course  of  his  conquests,  he 
gained  possession  of  the  tomb  in  which  the  em- 
balmed body  of  Amasis  was  deposited.  He  or- 
dered this  body  to  be  taken  out  of  its  sarcopha- 
gus, and  treated  with  every  mark  of  ignominy. 
His  soldiers,  by  his  orders,  beat  it  with  rods,  as 
if  it  could  still  feel,  and  goaded  it,  and  cut  it 
with  swords.  They  pulled  the  hair  out  of  the 
head  by  the  roots,  and  loaded  the  lifeless  form 
with  every  conceivable  mark  of  insult  and  ig- 
nominy.    Finally,  Cambyses  ordered  the  mu- 


32  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 524. 

Cambyses's  desecrations.  The  sacred  bull  Apis. 

tilated  remains  that  were  left  to  be  burned, 
which  was  a  procedure  as  abhorrent  to  the  ideas 
and  feelings  of  the  Egyptians  as  could  possibly 
be  devised. 

Cambyses  took  every  opportunity  to  insult 
the  religious,  or  as,  perhaps,  we  ought  to  call 
them,  the  superstitious  feelings  of  the  Egyp- 
tians. He  broke  into  their  temples,  desecrated 
their  altars,  and  subjected  every  thing  which 
they  held  most  sacred  to  insult  and  ignominy. 
Among  their  objects  of  religious  veneration  was 
the  sacred  bull  called  Apis.  This  animal  was 
selected  from  time  to  time,  from  the  country  at 
large,  by  the  priests,  by  means  of  certain  marks 
which  they  pretended  to  discover  upon  its  body, 
and  which  indicated  a  divine  and  sacred  char- 
acter. The  sacred  bull  thus  found  was  kept  in 
a  magnificent  temple,  and  attended  and  fed  in  a 
most  sumptuous  manner.  In  serving  him,  the 
attendants  used  vessels  of  gold. 

Cambyses  arrived  at  the  city  where  Apis  was 
kept  at  a  time  when  the  priests  were  celebra- 
ting some  sacred  occasion  with  festivities  and  re- 
joicings. He  was  himself  then  returning  from 
an  unsuccessful  expedition  which  he  had  made, 
and,  as  he  entered  the  town,  stung  with  vexa- 
tion and  anger  at  his  defeat,  the  gladness  and 


B.C.  524.]  Cambyseb.  33 

Cambyses  stabs  the  sacred  bull.  His  mad  expeditious. 

joy  which  the  Egyptians  manifested  in  their 
ceremonies  served  only  to  irritate  him,  and  to 
make  him  more  angry  than  ever.  He  killed 
the  priests  who  were  officiating.  He  then  de- 
manded to  be  taken  into  the  edifice  to  see  the 
sacred  animal,  and  there,  after  insulting  the 
feelings  of  the  worshipers  in  every  possible  way 
by  ridicule  and  scornful  words,  he  stabbed  the 
innocent  bull  with  his  dagger.  The  animal 
died  of  the  wound,  and  "the  whole  country  was 
filled  with  horror  and  indignation.  The  people 
believed  that  this  deed  would  most  assuredly 
bring  down  upon  the  impious  perpetrator  of  it 
the  judgments  of  heaven. 

Cambyses  organized,  while  he  was  in  Egypt, 
several  mad  expeditions  into  the  surrounding- 
countries.  In  a  fit  of  passion,  produced  by  an 
unsatisfactory  answer  to  an  embassage,  he  set 
off  suddenly,  and  without  any  proper  prepara- 
tion, to  march  into  Ethiopia.  The  provisions 
of  his  army  were  exhausted  before  he  had  per- 
formed a  fifth  part  of  the  march.  Still,  in  his 
infatuation,  he  determined  to  go  on.  The  sol- 
diers subsisted  for  a  time  on  such  vegetables  as 
they  could  find  by  the  way  ;  when  these  failed, 
they  slaughtered  and  ate  their  beasts  of  burden  ; . 
and  finally,  hi  the  extremity  of  their  famine, 
C 


34  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  524. 

The  sand  storm.  Cambyses  a  wine-bibbcr. 

they  began  to  kill  and  devour  one  another ;  then, 
at  length,  Cambyses  concluded  to  return.  He 
sent  off,  too,  at  one  time,  a  large  army  across 
the  desert  toward  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Am- 
nion, without  any  of  the  necessary  precautions 
for  such  a  march.  This  army  never  reached 
their  destination,  and  they  never  returned. 
The  people  of  the  Oasis  said  that  they  were 
overtaken  by  a  sand  storm  in  the  desert,  and 
were  all  overwhelmed. 

There  was  a  certain  officer  in  attendance  on 
Cambyses  named  Prexaspes.  He  was  a  sort 
of  confidential  friend  and  companion  of  the 
king  ;  and  his  son,  who  was  a  fair,  and  grace- 
ful, and  accomplished  youth,  was  the  king's 
cup-bearer,  which  was  an  office  of  great  consid- 
eration and  honor.  One  day  Cambyses  asked 
Prexaspes  what  the  Persians  generally  thought 
of  him.  Prexaspes  replied  that  they  thought 
and  spoke  well  of  him  in  all  respects  but  one. 
The  king  wished  to  know  what  the  exception 
was.  Prexaspes  rejoined,  that  it  was  the  gen- 
eral opinion  that  he  was  too  much  addicted  to 
wine.  Cambyses  was  offended  at  this  reply  j 
and,  under  the  influence  of  the  feeling,  so  wholly 
unreasonable  and  absurd,  which  so  often  leads 
men  to  be  angry  with  the  innocent  medium 


'■»7!    \h  ~H 


ft1 


1 1 


I 


B.C.  524.]  Cambyses.  37 

Brutal  act  of  Cambyses.  He  is  deemed  insane. 

through  which  there  comes  to  them  any  com- 
munication which  they  do  not  like,  he  determ- 
ined to  punish  Prexaspes  for  his  freedom.  He 
ordered  his  son,  therefore,  the  cup-hearer,  to 
take  his  place  against  the  wall  on  the  other 
side  of  the  room.  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  I  will  put 
what  the  Persians  say  to  the  test."  As  he  said 
this,  he  took  up  a  bow  and  arrow  which  were 
at  his  side,  and  began  to  fit  the  arrow  to  the 
string.  "  If,"  said  he,  "  I  do  not  shoot  him  ex- 
actly through  the  heart,  it  shall  prove  that  the 
Persians  are  right.  If  I  do,  then  they  are  wrong, 
as  it  will  show  that  I  do  not  drink  so  much  as 
to  make  my  hand  unsteady."  So  saying,  he 
drew  the  bow,  the  arrow  flew  through  the  air, 
and  pierced  the  poor  boy's  breast.  He  fell,  and 
Cambyses  coolly  ordered  the  attendants  to  open 
the  body,  and  let  Prexaspes  see  whether  the  ar- 
row had  not  gone  through  the  heart. 

These,  and  a  constant  succession  of  similar 
acts  of  atrocious  and  reckless  cruelty  and  folly, 
led  the  world  to  say  that  Cambyses  was  insane. 


38  Darius  the   Great.   [B.C.523. 

Cambyses's  profligate  conduct.  He  marries  his  own  sisters. 


Chapter  II. 
The  End  of  Cambyses. 

AMONG-  the  other  acts  of  profligate  wicked- 
ness which  have  blackened  indelibly  and 
forever  Cambyses's  name,  he  married  two  of 
his  own  sisters,  and  brought  one  of  them  with 
him  to  Egypt  as  his  wife.  The  natural  in- 
stincts of  all  men,  except  those  whose  early  life 
has  been  given  up  to  the  most  shameless  and 
dissolute  habits  of  vice,  are  sufficient  to  preserve 
them  "from  such  crimes  as  these.  Cambyses 
himself  felt,  it  seems,  some  misgivings  when 
contemplating  the  first  of  these  marriages  ;  and 
he  sent  to  a  certain  council  of  judges,  whose 
province  it  was  to  interpret  the  laws,  asking 
them  their  opinion  of  the  rightfulness  of  such 
a  marriage.  Kings  ask  the  opinion  of  their  le- 
gal advisers  in  such  cases,  not  because  they 
really  wish  to  know  whether  the  act  in  question 
is  right  or  wrong,  but  because,  having  them- 
selves determined  upon  the  performance  of  it, 
they  wish  their  counselors  to  give  it  a  sort  of 
legal  sanction,  in  order  to  justify  the  deed,  and 


B.C.523.]  The    End   of   Cambyses.      39 

Consultation  of  the  Persian  judges.  Their  opinion. 

diminish  the  popular  odium  which  it  might 
otherwise  incur. 

The  Persian  judges  whom  Cambyses  con- 
sulted on  this  occasion  understood  very  well 
what  was  expected  of  them.  After  a  grave 
deliberation,  they  returned  answer  to  the  king 
that,  though  they  could  find  no  law  allowing  a 
man  to  marry  his  sister,  they  found  many  which 
authorized  a  king  of  Persia  to  do  whatever  he 
thought  best.  Cambyses  accordingly  carried 
his  plan  into  execution.  He  married  first  the 
older  sister,  whose  name  was  Atossa.  Atossa 
became  subsequently  a  personage  of  great  his- 
torical distinction.  The  daughter  of  Cyrus,  the 
wife  of  Darius,  and  the  mother  of  Xerxes,  she 
was  the  link  that  bound  together  the  three 
most  magnificent  potentates  of  the  whole  East- 
ern world.  How  far  these  sisters  were  willing 
participators  in  the  guilt  of  their  incestuous 
marriages  we  can  not  now  know.  The  one 
who  went  with  Cambyses  into  Egypt  was  of 
a  humane,  and  gentle,  and  timid  disposition, 
being  in  these  respects  wholly  unlike  her  broth- 
er ;  and  it  may  be  that  she  merely  yielded,  in 
the  transaction  of  her  marriage,  to  her  brother's 
arbitrary  and  imperious  will. 

Besides  this  sister,  Cambyses  had  brought 


40  Darius    the    Great.  [B.C. 523. 

Smerdis.  Jealousy  of  Cambyses.  The  two  magi. 

his  brother  Smerdis  with  him  into  Egypt. 
Smerdis  was  younger  than  Cambyses,  but  he 
was  superior  to  him  in  strength  and  personal  ac- 
complishments. Cambyses  was  very  jealous 
of  this  superiority.  He  did  not  dare  to  leave 
his  brother  in  Persia,  to  manage  the  govern- 
ment in  his  stead  during  his  absence,  lest  he 
should  take  advantage  of  the  temporary  power 
thus  committed  to  his  hands,  and  usurp  the 
throne  altogether.  He  decided,  therefore,  to 
bring  Smerdis  with  him  into  Egypt,  and  to 
leave  the  government  of  the  state  in  the  hands 
of  a  regency  composed  of  two  magi.  These 
magi  were  public  officers  of  distinction,  but, 
having  no  hereditary  claims  to  the  crown,  Cam- 
byses thought  there  would  be  little  danger  of 
their  attempting  to  usurp  it.  It  happened,  how- 
ever, that  the  name  of  one  of  these  magi  was 
Smerdis.  This  coincidence  between  the  magi- 
an's  name  and  that  of  the  prince  led,  in  the 
end,  as  will  presently  be  seen,  to  very  import- 
ant consequences. 

The  uneasiness  and  jealousy  which  Camby- 
ses felt  in  respect  to  his  brother  was  not  whol- 
ly allayed  by  the  arrangement  which  he  thus 
made  for  keeping  him  in  his  army,  and  so  un- 
der his  own  personal  observation  and  command. 


B.C.523.]  The  End  of  Cambyses.        41 

Cambjrses  suspicious.  He  plans  an  invasion  of  Ethiopia. 

Smerdis  evinced,  on  various  occasions,  so  much 
strength  and  skill,  that  Cambyses  feared  his  in- 
fluence among  the  officers  and  soldiers,  and  was 
rendered  continually  watchful,  suspicious,  and 
afraid.  A  circumstance  at  last  occurred  which 
excited  his  jealousy  more  than  ever,  and  he  de- 
termined to  send  Smerdis  home  again  to  Persia. 
The  circumstance  was  this  : 

After  Cambyses  had  succeeded  in  obtaining 
full  possession  of  Egypt,  he  formed,  among  his 
other  wild  and  desperate  schemes,  the  design  of 
invading  the  territories  of  a  nation  of  Ethiopi- 
ans who  lived  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  around 
and  beyond  the  sources  of  the  Nile.  The  Ethi- 
opians were  celebrated  for  then*  savage  strength 
and  bravery.  Cambyses  wished  to  obtain  in- 
formation respecting  them  and  their  country 
before  setting  out  on  his  expedition  against 
them,  and  he  determined  to  send  spies  into  their 
country  to  obtain  it.  But,  as  Ethiopia  was  a 
territory  so  remote,  and  as  its  institutions  and 
customs,  and  the  language,  the  dress,  and  the 
manners  of  its  inhabitants  were  totally  different 
from  those  of  all  the  other  nations  of  the  earth, 
and  were  almost  wholly  unknown  to  the  Per- 
sian army,  it  was  impossible  to  send  Persians 
in  disguise,  with  any  hope  that  they  could  en- 


42  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 523. 

Island  of  Elephantine.  -  The  Icthyophagi. 

ter  and  explore  the  country  without  being  dis- 
covered. It  was  very  doubtful,  in  fact,  wheth- 
er, if  such  spies  were  to  be  sent,  they  could 
succeed  in  reaching  Ethiopia  at  all. 

Now  there  was,  far  up  the  Nile,  near  the  cat- 
aracts, at  a  place  where  the  river  widens  and 
forms  a  sort  of  bay,  a  large  and  fertile  island 
called  Elephantine,  which  was  inhabited  by  a 
half-savage  tribe  called  the  Icthyophagi.  They 
lived  mainly  by  fishing  on  the  river,  and,  conse- 
quently, they  had  many  boats,  and  were  accus- 
tomed to  make  long  exclusions  up  and  down 
the  stream.  Their  name  was,  in  fact,  derived 
from  their  occupation.  It  was  a  Greek  word, 
and  might  be  translated  "  Fishermen."*  The 
manners  and  customs  of  half-civilized  or  savage 
nations  depend  entirely,  of  course,  upon  the 
modes  in  which  they  procure  their  subsistence. 
Some  depend  on  hunting  wild  beasts,  some  on 
rearing  flocks  and  herds  of  tame  animals,  some 
on  cultivating  the  ground,  and  some  on  fishing 
in  rivers  or  in  the  sea.  These  four  different 
modes  of  procuring  food  result  in  as  many  to- 
tally diverse  modes  of  life:  it  is  a  curious  fact, 
however,  that  while  a  nation  of  hunters  differs 
very  essentially  from  a  nation  of  herdsmen  or 

*  Literally,  fish-eaters. 


■ 


B.C.  523.]  The    End    of    Cambyses.      43 

Classes  of  savage  nations.  Embassadors  sent  to  Ethiopia. 

of  fishermen,  though  they  may  Live,  perhaps,  in 
the  same  neighborhood  with  them,  still,  all  na- 
tions of  hunters,  however  widely  they  may  he 
separated  in  geographical  position,  very  strong- 
ly resemble  one  another  in  character,  in  cus- 
toms, in  institutions,  and  in  all  the  usages  of 
life.  It  is  so,  moreover,  with  all  the  other  types 
of  national  constitution  mentioned  above.  The 
Greeks  observed  these  characteristics  of  the  va- 
rious savage  tribes  with  which  they  became  ac- 
quainted, and  whenever  they  met  with  a  tribe 
that  lived  by  fishing,  they  called  them  Icthy- 
ophagi.  ' 

Cambyses  sent  to  the  Icthyophagi  of  the  isl- 
and of  Elephantine,  requiring  them  to  furnish 
him  with  a  number  of  persons  acquainted  with 
the  route  to  Ethiopia  and  with  the  Ethiopian 
language,  that  he  might  send  them  as  an  em- 
bassy. He  also  provided  some  presents  to  be 
sent  as  a  token  of  friendship  to  the  Ethiopian 
king.  The  presents  were,  however,  only  a  pre- 
text, to  enable  the  embassadors,  who  were,  in 
fact,  spies,  to  go  to  the  capital  and  court  of  the 
Ethiopian  monarch  in  safety,  and  bring  back  to 
Cambyses  all  the  information  which  they  should 
be  able  to  obtain. 

The  presents  consisted  of  such  toys  and  orna- 


44  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  523. 

The  presents.  The  Ethiopian  king  detects  the  imposture. 

merits  as  they  thought  would  most  please  the 
fancy  of  a  savage  king.  There  were  some  pur- 
ple vestments  of  a  very  rich  and  splendid  dye, 
and  a  golden  chain  for  the  neck,  golden  brace- 
lets for  the  wrists,  an  alabaster  box  of  very  pre- 
cious perfumes,  and  other  similar  trinkets  and 
toys.  There  was  also  a  large  vessel  filled  with 
wine. 

The  Icthyophagi  took  these  presents,  and  set 
out  on  their  expedition.  After  a  long  and  toil- 
some voyage  and  journey,  they  came  to  the 
country  of  the  Ethiopians,  and  delivered  their 
presents,  together  with  the  message  which  Cam- 
byses  had  intrusted  to  them.  The  presents, 
they  said,  had  been  sent  by  Cambyses  as  a 
token  of  his  desire  to  become  the  friend  and  ally 
of  the  Ethiopian  king. 

The  king,  instead  of  being  deceived  by  this 
hypocrisy,  detected  the  imposture  at  once.  He 
knew  very  well,  he  said,  what  was  the  motive 
of  Cambyses  in  sending  such  an  embassage  to 
him,  and  he  should  advise  Cambyses  to  be  con- 
tent with  his  own  dominions,  instead  of  planning 
aggressions  of  violence,  and  schemes  and  strata- 
gems of  deceit  against  his  neighbors,  in  order  to 
get  possession  of  theirs.  He  then  began  to  look 
at  the   presents  which  the   embassadors  had 


B.C.  523.]  The  End  of  Cambyses.     45 

*The  Ethiopian  king's  opinion  of  Cambyses's  presents. 

brought,  which,  however,  he  appeared  very  'soon 
to  despise.  The  purple  vest  first  attracted  his 
attention.  He  asked  whether  that  was  the  true, 
natural  color  of  the  stuff,  or  a  false  one.  The 
messengers  told  him  that  the  linen  was  dyed, 
and  began  to  explain  the  process  to  him.  The 
mind  of  the  savage  potentate,  however,  instead 
of  being  impressed,  as  the  messengers  supposed 
he  would  have  been  through  their  description, 
with  a  high  idea  of  the  excellence  and  superi- 
ority of  Persian  art,  only  despised  the  false  show 
of  what  he  considered  an  artificial  and  fictitious 
beauty.  "  The  beauty  of  Cambyses's  dresses," 
said  he,  "is  as  deceitful,  it  seems,  as  the  fair 
show  of  his  professions  of  friendship."  As  to 
the  golden  bracelets-  and  necklaces,  the  king 
looked  upon  them  with  contempt.  He  thought 
that  they  were  intended  for  fetters  and  chains, 
and  said  that,  however  well  they  might  answer 
among  the  effeminate  Persians,  they  were  wholly 
insufficient  to  confine  such  sinews  as  he  had  to 
deal  with.  The  wine,  however,  he  liked.  He 
drank  it  with  great  pleasure,  and  told  the  Icthy- 
ophagi  that  it  was  the  only  article  among  all 
their  presents  that  was  worth  receiving. 

In  return  for  the  presents  which  Cambyses 
had  sent  him,  the  King  of  the  Ethiopians,  who 


46  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 523. 

Return  of  the  Icthyophagi.  The  Ethiopian  bow. 

was  a  man  of  prodigious  size  and  strength,  took 
down  his  bow  and  gave  it  to  the  Icthyophagi, 
telling  them  to  carry  it  to  Cambyses  as  a  token 
of  his  defiance,  and  to  ask  him  to  see  if  he  could 
find  a  man  in  all  his  army  who  could  bend  it. 
"  Tell  Cambyses,"  he  added,  "  that  when  his  sol- 
diers are  able  to  bend  such  bows  as  that,  it  will 
be  time  for  him  to  think  of  invading  the  terri- 
tories of  the  Ethiopians  ;  and  that,  in  the  mean 
time,  he  ought  to  consider  himself  very  fortu- 
nate that  the  Ethiopians  were  not  grasping  and 
ambitious  enough  to  attempt  the  invasion  of 
his." 

"When  the  Icthyophagi  returned  to  Camby- 
ses with  this  message,  the  strongest  men  in  the 
Persian  camp  were  of  course  greatly  interested 
in  examining  and  trying  the  bow.  Smerdis 
was  the  only  one  that  could  be  found  who  was 
strong  enough  to  bend  it ;  and  he,  by  the  supe- 
riority to  the  others  which  he  thus  evinced, 
gained  great  renown.  Cambyses  was  filled  with 
jealousy  and  anger.  He  determined  to  send 
Smerdis  back  again  to  Persia.  "  It  will  be  bet- 
ter," thought  he  to  himself,  "  to  incur  whatever 
danger  there  may  be  of  his  exciting  revolt  at 
home,  than  to  have  him  present  in  my  court, 
subjecting  me  to  continual  mortification  and 


B.C. 523.]  The  End  of  Cambyses.        47 

Jealousy  of  Cambyses.  He  orders  Smerdis  to  be  murdered. 

chagrin  by  the  perpetual  parade  of  his  superior- 
ity." 

His  mind  was,  however,  not  at  ease  after  his 
brother  had  gone.  Jealousy  and  suspicion  in  re- 
spect to  Smerdis  perplexed  his  waking  thoughts 
and  troubled  his  dreams.  At  length,  one  night, 
he  thought  he  saw  Smerdis  seated  on  a  royal 
throne  in  Persia,  his  form  expanded  supernatu- 
rally  to  such  a  prodigious  size  that  he  touched 
the  heavens  with  his  head.  The  next  day,  Cam- 
byses, supposing  that  the  dream  portended  dan- 
ger that  Smerdis  would  be  one  day  in  posses- 
sion of  the  throne,  determined  to  put  a  final  and 
perpetual  end  to  all  these  troubles  and  fears, 
and  he  sent  for  an  officer  of  his  court,  Prexaspes 
— the  same  whose  son  he  shot  through  the  heart 
with  an  arrow,  as  described  in  the  last  chapter 
— and  commanded  him  to  proceed  immediately 
to  Persia,  and  there  to  find  Smerdis,  and  kill 
him.  The  murder  of  Prexaspes's  son,  though 
related  in  the  last  chapter  as  an  illustration  of 
Cambyses's  character,  did  not  actually  take 
place  till  after  Prexaspes  returned  from  this  ex- 
pedition. 

Prexaspes  went  to  Persia,  and  executed  the 
orders  of  the  king  by  the  assassination  of  Smer- 
dis.    There  are  different  accounts  of  the  mode 


48  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 523. 

Cambyses  grows  more  cruel.  Twelve  noblemen  buried  alive. 

which  he  adopted  for  accomplishing  his  purpose. 
One  is,  that  he  contrived  some  way  to  drown 
him  in  the  sea ;  another,  that  he  poisoned  him  ; 
and  a  third,  that  he  killed  him  in  the  forests, 
when  he  was  out  on  a  hunting  excursion.  At 
all  events,  the  deed  was  done,  and  Prexaspes 
went  back  to  Cambyses,  and  reported  to  him 
that  he  had  nothing  further  to  fear  from  his 
brother's  ambition. 

In  the  mean  time,  Cambyses  went  on  from 
bad  to  worse  in  his  government,  growing  every 
day  more  despotic  and  tyrannical,  and  abandon- 
ing hinself  to  fits  of  cruelty  and  passion  which 
became'  more  and  more  excessive  and  insane. 
At  one  time,  on  some  slight  provocation,  he  or- 
dered twelve  distinguished  noblemen  of  his 
court  to  be  buried  alive.  It  is  astonishing  that 
there  can  be  institutions  and  arrangements  in 
the  social  state  which  will  give  one  man  such 
an  ascendency  over  others  that  such  commands 
can  be  obeyed.  On  another  occasion,  Camby- 
ses's  sister  and  wife,  who  had  mourned  the 
death  of  her  brother  Smerdis,  ventured  a  re- 
proach to  Cambyses  for  having  destroyed  him. 
She  was  sitting  at  table,  with  some  plant  or 
flower  in  her  hand,  which  she  slowly  picked  to 
pieces,  putting  the  fragments  on  the  table.    She 


B.C.523.]  The  End  of  Cambyses.        49 

Cambyses's  cruelty  to  his  sister.  Her  death. 

asked  Cambyses  whether  he  thought  the  flower 
looked  fairest  and  best  in  fragments,  or  in  its 
original  and  natural  integrity.  "  It  looked 
best,  certainly,"  Cambyses  said,  "  when  it  was 
whole."  "And  yet,"  said  she,  "you  have  be- 
gun to  take  to  pieces  and  destroy  our  family,  as 
I  have  destroyed  this  flower."  Cambyses  sprang 
upon  his  unhappy  sister,  on  hearing  this  re- 
proof, with  the  ferocity  of  a  tiger.  He  threw 
her  down  and  leaped  upon  her.  The  attend- 
ants succeeded  in  rescuing  her  and  bearing  her 
away ;  but  she  had  received  a  fatal  injury. 
She  fell  immediately  into  a  premature  and  un- 
natural sickness,  and  died. 

These  fits  of  sudden  and  terrible  passion  to 
which  Cambyses  was  subject,  were  often  fol- 
lowed, when  they  had  passed  by,  as  is  usual  in 
such  cases,  with  remorse  and  misery ;  and  some- 
times the  officers  of  Cambyses,  anticipating  a 
change  in  their  master's  feelings,  did  not  exe- 
cute his  cruel  orders,  but  concealed  the  object 
of  his  blind  and  insensate  vengeance  until  the 
paroxysm  was  over.  They  did  this  once  in  the 
case  of  Croesus.  Croesus,  who  was  now  a  ven- 
erable man,  advanced  in  years,  had  been  for  a 
long  time  the  friend  and  faithful  counselor  of 
Cambyses's  father.  He  had  known  Cambyses 
D 


50  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 523. 

The  venerable  Croesus.  His  advice  to  Cambyses. 

himself  from  his  boyhood,  and  had  been  charged 
by  his  father  to  watch  over  him  and  counsel 
him,  and  aid  him,  on  all  occasions  which  might 
require  it,  with  his  experience  and  wisdom. 
Cambyses,  too,  had  been  solemnly  charged  by 
his  father  Cyrus,  at  the  last  interview  that  he 
had  with  him  before  his  death,  to  guard  and 
protect  Crcesus,  as  his  father's  ancient  and 
faithful  friend,  and  to  treat  him,  as  long  as  he 
lived,  with  the  highest  consideration  and  honor. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Crcesus  consid- 
ered himself  justified  in  remonstrating  one  day 
with  Cambyses  against  his  excesses  and  his 
cruelty.  He  told  him  that  he  ought  not  to  give 
himself  up  to  the  control  of  such  violent  and 
impetuous  passions ;  that,  though  his  Persian 
soldiers  and  subjects  had  borne  with  him  thus 
far,  he  might,  by  excessive  oppression  and  cru- 
elty, exhaust  their  forbearance  and  provoke 
them  to  revolt  against  him,  and  that  thus  he 
might  suddenly  lose  his  power,  through  his  in- 
temperate and  inconsiderate  use  of  it.  Crcesus 
apologized  for  offering  these  counsels,  saying 
that  he  felt  bound  to  warn  Cambyses  of  his 
danger,  in  obedience  to  the  injunctions  of  Cy- 
rus, his  father. 

Cambyses  fell  into  a  violent  passion  at  hear- 


B.C.523.]  The  End  of  Cambyses.        51 

Cambyses's  rage  at  CrcEsus.  He  attempts  to  kill  him. 

iiig  these  words.  He  told  Croesus  that  he  was 
amazed  at  his  presumption  in  daring  to  offer 
him  advice,  and  then  began  to  load  his  vener- 
able counselor  with  the  bitterest  invectives  and 
reproaches.  He  taunted  him  with  his  own  mis- 
fortunes, in  losing,  as  he  had  done,  years  before, 
his  own  kingdom  of  Lydia,  and  then  accused 
him  of  having  been  the  means,  through  his  fool- 
ish counsels,  of  leading  his  father,  Cyrus,  into 
the  worst  of  the  difficulties  which  befell  him  to- 
ward the  close  of  his  life.  At  last,  becoming 
more  and  more  enraged  by  the  reaction  upon 
himself  of  his  own  angry  utterance,  he  told 
Croesus  that  he  had  hated  him  for  a  long  time, 
and  for  a  long  time  had  wished  to  punish  him ; 
"  and  now,"  said  he,  "  you  have  given  me  an 
opportunity."  So  saying,  he  seized  his  bow, 
and  began  to  fit  an  arrow  to  .►the  string.  Croesus 
fled.  Cambyses  ordered  his  attendants  to  pur- 
sue him,  and  when  they  had  taken  him,  to  kill 
him.  The  officers  knew  that  Cambyses  would 
regret  his  rash  and  reckless  command  as  soon  as 
his  anger  should  have  subsided,  and  so,  instead 
of  slaying  Croesus,  they  concealed  him.  A  few 
days  after,  when  the  tyrant  began  to  express  his 
remorse  and  sorrow  at  having  destroyed  his  ven- 
erable friend  in  the  heat  of  passion,  and  to  mourn 


52  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.  523. 

The  declaration  of  the  oracle.  Ecbatane,  Susa,  and  Babylon. 

his  death,  they  told  him  that  Croesus  was  still 
alive.  They  had  ventured,  they  said,  to  save 
him,  till  they  could  ascertain  whether  it  was 
the  kind's  real  and  deliberate  determination  that 
he  must  die.  The  king  was  overjoyed  to  find 
Croesus  still  alive,  hut  he  would  not  forgive 
those  who  had  been  instrumental  in  saving  him. 
He  ordered  every  one  of  them  to  be  executed. 

Cambyses  was  the  more  reckless  and  des- 
perate in  these  tyrannical  cruelties  because  he 
believed  that  he  possessed  a  sort  of  charmed  life. 
He  had  consulted  an  oracle,  it  seems,  in  Media, 
in  respect  to  his  prospects  of  life,  and  the  oracle 
had  informed  him  that  he  would  die  at  Ecbat- 
ane. Now  Ecbatane  was  one  of  the  three 
great  capitals  of  his  empire,  Susa  and  Babylorr 
being  the  others.  Ecbatane  was  the  most  north- 
erly of  these  cities,  and  the  most  remote  from 
danger.  Babylon  and  Susa  were  the  points 
where  the  great  transactions  of  government 
chiefly,  centered,  while  Ecbatane  was  more  par- 
ticularly the  private  residence  of  the  kings.  It 
was  their  refuge  in  danger,  their  retreat  in  sick- 
ness and  age.  In  a  word,  Susa  was  their  seat 
of  government,  Babylon  their  great  commercial 
emporium,  but  Ecbatane  was  their  home. 

And  thus  as  the  oracle,  when  Cambyses  in- 


B.C.522.]  The  End  of  Cambyses.        53 

Cambyses  returns  northward.  He  enters  Syria. 

quired  in  respect  to  the  circumstances  of  his 
death,  had  said  that  it  was  decreed  by  the  fates 
that  he  should  die  at  Ecbatane,  it  meant,  as  he 
supposed,  that  he  should  die  in  peace,  in  his 
bed,  at  the  close  of  the  usual  period  allotted  to 
the  life  of  man.  Considering  thus  that  the 
fates  had  removed  all  danger  of  a  sudden  and 
violent  death  from  his  path,  he  abandoned  him- 
self to  his  career  of  vice  and  folly,  remembering 
only  the  substance  of  the  oracle,  while  the  par- 
ticular form  of  words  in  which  it  was  expressed 
passed  from  his  mind. 

At  length  Cambyses,  after  completing  his 
conquests  in  Egypt,  returned  to  the  northward, 
along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  until 
he  came  into  Syria.  The  province  of  Galilee, 
so  often  mentioned  in  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
was  a  part  of  Syria.  In  traversing  Galilee  at 
the  head  of  the  detachment  of  troops  that  was 
accompanying  him,  Cambyses  came,  one  day, 
to  a  small  town,  and  encamped  there.  The 
town  itself  was  of  so  little  importance  that 
Cambyses  did  not,  at  the  time  of  his  arriving 
at  it,  even  know  its  name.  His  encampment 
at  the  place,  however,  was  marked  by  a  very 
memorable  event,  namely,  he  met  with  a  herald 
here,  who  was  traveling  through  Syria,  saying 


54  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  522. 

A  herald  proclaims  Smerdis.  The  herald  seized. 

that  he  had  been  sent  from  Siisa  to  proclaim 
to  the  people  of  Syria  that  Smerdis,  the  son  of 
Cyrus,  had  assumed  the  throne,  and  to  enjoin 
upon  them  all  to  obey  no  orders  except  such 
as  should  come  from  him ! 

Cambyses  had  supposed  that  Smerdis  was 
dead.  Prexaspes,  when  he  had  returned  from 
Susa,  had  reported  that  he  had  killed  him.  He 
now,  however,  sent  for  Prexaspes,  and  demand- 
ed of  him  what  this  proclamation  could  mean. 
Prexaspes  renewed,  and  insisted  upon,  his  dec- 
laration that  Smerdis  was  dead.  He  had  de- 
stroyed him  with  his  own  hands,  and  had  seen 
him  buried.  "  If  the  dead  can  rise  from  the 
grave,"  added  Prexaspes,  "then  Smerdis  may, 
perhaps,  raise  a  revolt  and  appear  against  you ; 
but  not  otherwise." 

Prexaspes  then  recommended  that  the  king 
should  send  and  seize  the  herald,  and  inquire 
particularly  of  him  in  respect  to  the  govern- 
ment in  whose  name  he  was  acting.  Cambyses 
did  so.  The  herald  was  taken  and  brought  be- 
fore the  king.  On  being  questioned  whether  it 
was  true  that  Smerdis  had  really  assumed  the 
government  and  commissioned  him  to  make 
proclamation  of  the  fact,  he  replied  that  it  was 
so.     He  had  not  seen  Smerdis  himself,  he  said, 


B.C. 522.]  The    End   of   Cambyses.      55 


Probable  explanation.  Rage  of  Cambyses. 

for  he  kept  himself  shut  up  very  closely  in  his 
palace  ;  but  he  was  informed  of  his  accession  by 
one  of  the  magians  whom  Cambyses  had  left  in 
command.  It  was  by  Mm,  he  said,  that  he  had 
been  commissioned  to  proclaim  Smerdis  as  king. 

Prexaspes  then  said  that  he  had  no  doubt 
that  the  two  magians  whom  Cambyses  had  left 
in  charge  of  the  government  had  contrived  to 
seize  the  throne.  He  reminded  Cambyses  that 
the  name  of  one  of  them  was  Smerdis,  and  that 
probably  that  was  the  Smerdis  who  was  usurp- 
ing the  supreme  command.  C  ambyses  said  that 
he  was  convinced  that  tins  supposition  was 
true.  His  dream,  in  which  he  had  seen  a  vision 
of  Smerdis,  with  his  head  reaching  to  the  heav- 
ens, referred,  he  had  no  doubt,  to  the  magian 
Smerdis,  and  not  to  his  brother.  He  began  bit- 
terly to  reproach  himself  for  havmg  caused  his 
innocent  brother  to  be  put  to  death;  but  the 
remorse  which,  he  thus  felt  for  his  crime,  in  as- 
sassinating an  imaginary  rival,  soon  gave  way 
to  rage  and  resentment  against  the  real  usurp- 
er. He  called  for  his  horse,  and  began  to  mount 
him  in  hot  haste,  to  give  immediate  orders,  and 
make  immediate  preparations  for  marching  to 
Susa. 

As  he  bounded  into  the  saddle,  with  his  mind 


56  Darius    the    Great.  [B.C.  522 

Cambyses  mortally  wounded.      •  His  remorse  and  despair. 

in  this  state  of  reckless  desperation,  the  sheath, 
by  some  accident  or  by  some  carelessness  caus- 
ed by  his  headlong  haste,  fell  from  his  sword, 
and  the  naked  point  of  the  weapon  pierced  his 
thigh.  The  attendants  took  him  from  his  horse, 
and  conveyed  him  again  to  his  tent.  The  wound, 
on  examination,  proved  to  be  a  very  dangerous 
one,  and  the  strong  passions,  the  vexation,  the 
disappointment,  the  impotent  rage,  which  were 
agitating  the  mind  of  the  patient,  exerted  an 
influence  extremely  unfavorable  to  recovery. 
Cambyses,  terrified  at  the  prospect  of  death, 
asked  what  was  the  name  of  the  town  where 
he  was  lying.     They  told  him  it  was  Ecbatane. 

He  had  never  thought  before  of  the  possibil- 
ity that  there  might  be  some  other  Ecbatane 
besides  his  splendid  royal  retreat  in  Media ;  but 
now,  when  he  learned  that  was  the  name  of  the 
place  where  he  was  then  encamped,  he  felt  sure 
that  his  hour  was  come,  and  he  was  overwhelm- 
ed with  remorse  and  despair. 

He  suffered,  too,  inconceivable  pain  and  an- 
guish from  his  wound.  The  sword  had  pierced 
to  the  bone,  and  the  inflammation  which  had 
supervened  was  of  the  worst  character.  After 
some  days,  the  acuteness  of  the  agony  which  he 
at  first  endured  passed  gradually  away,  though 


B.C.522.]  The  End  of  Cambyses.       57 

Cambyses  calls  his  nobles  about  him.  His  dying  declaration. 

the  extent  of  the  injury  resulting  from  the 
wound  was  growing  every  clay  greater  and  more 
hopeless.  The  sufferer  lay,  pale,  emaciated, 
and  wretched,  on  his  couch,  his  mind,  in  every 
interval  of  bodily  agony,  filling  up  the  void  with 
the  more  dreadful  sufferings  of  horror  and  de- 
spair. 

At  length,  on  the  twentieth  day  after  his 
wound  had  been  received,  he  called  the  leading 
nobles  of  his  court  and  officers  of  his  army  about 
his  bedside,  and  said  to  them  that  he  was  about 
to  die,  and  that  he  was  compelled,  by  the  calam- 
ity which  had  befallen  him,  to  declare  to  them 
what  he  would  otherwise  have  continued  to  keep 
concealed.  The  person  who  had  usurped  the 
throne  under  the  name  of  Smerdis,  he  now  said, 
was  not,  and  could  not  be,  his  brother  Smerdis, 
the  son  of  Cyrus.  He  then  proceeded  to  give 
them  an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  his 
fears  in  respect  to  his  brother  had  been  excited 
by  his  dream,  and  of  the  desperate  remedy  that 
he  had  resorted  to  in  ordering  him  to  be  killed. 
He  believed,  he  said,  that  the  usurper  was  Smer- 
dis the  magian,  whom  he  had  left  as  one  of  the 
regents  when  he  set  out  on  his  Egyptian  cam- 
paign. He  urged  them,  therefore,  not  to  sub- 
mit to  his  sway,  but  to  go  back  to  Media,  and 


58  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.  522. 

Death  of  Cambyses.  IIis"dying  declaration  discredited. 

if  they  could  not  conquer  him  and  put  him  down 
by  open  war,  to  destroy  him  by  deceit  and  strata- 
gem, or  in  any  way  whatever  by  which  the  end 
could  be  accomplished.  Cambyses  urged  this 
with  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  hatred  and  revenge 
beaming  in  his  hollow  and  glassy  eye  as  to  show 
that  sickness,  pain,  and  the  approach  of  death, 
which  had  made  so  total  a  change  in  the  wretch- 
ed sufferer's  outward  condition,  had  altered  noth- 
ing within. 

Very  soon  after  making  this  communication 
to  his  nobles,  Cambyses  expired. 

It  will  well  illustrate  the  estimate  which 
those  who  knew  him  best,  formed  of  this  great 
hero's  character,  to  state,  that  those  who  heard 
this  solemn  declaration  did  not  believe  one  word 
of  it  from  beginning  to,  end.  They  supposed 
that  the  whole  story  which  the  dying  tyrant 
had  told  them,  although  he  had  scarcely  breath 
enough  left  to  tell  it,  was  a  fabrication,  dictated 
by  his  fraternal  jealousy  and  hate.  They  be- 
lieved that  it  was  really  the  true  Smerdis  who 
had  been  proclaimed  king,  and  that  Cambyses 
had  invented,  in  his  dying  moments,  the  story 
of  his  having  killed  him,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  Persians  from  submitting  peaceably  to  his 
reign. 


B.C.  520.]  Smerdis  the  Magian.         59 

Usurpation  of  the  magians.  .  Circumstances  favoring  it. 


Chapter  III. 
Smerdis  the  Magian. 

CAMBYSES  and  his  friends  had  been  right 
in  their  conjectures  that  it  was  Smerdis 
the  magian  who  had  usurped  the  Persian  throne. 
This  Smerdis  resembled,  it  was  said,  the  son  of 
Cyrus  in  his  personal  appearance  as  well  as  in 
name.  The  other  magian  who  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  regency  when  Cambyses 
set  out  from  Persia  on  his  Egyptian  campaign 
was  his  brother.  His  name  was  Patizithes. 
When  Cyrus  had  been  some  time  absent,  these 
magians,  having  in  the  mean  time,  perhaps, 
heard  unfavorable  accounts  of  his  conduct  and 
character,  and  knowing  the  effect  which  such 
wanton  tyranny  must  have  in  alienating  from 
him  the  allegiance  of  his  subjects,  conceived 
the  design  of  taking  possession  of  the  empire  in 
their  own  name.  The  great  distance  of  Cam- 
byses and  his  army  from  home,  and  his  Jong- 
continued  absence,  favored  this  plan.  Their 
own  position,  too,  as  they  were  already  in  pos- 
session of  the  capitals  and  the  fortresses  of  the 


60  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  520. 

Murder  of  Smerdis  not  known.  He  is  supposed  to  be  alive. 

country,  aided  them ;  and  then  the  name  of 
Smerdis,  being  the  same  with  that  of  the  brother 
of  Cambyses,  was  a  circumstance  that  greatly 
promoted  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  In 
addition  to  all  these  general  advantages,  the 
cruelty  of  Cambyses  was  the  means  of  furnish- 
ing them  with  a  most  opportune  occasion  for 
putting  their  plans  into  execution. 

The  reader  will  recollect  that,  as  was  related 
in  the  last  chapter,  Cambyses  first  sent  his 
brother  Smerdis  home,  and  afterward,  when 
alarmed  by  his  dream,  he  sent  Prexaspes  to 
murder  him.  Now  the  return  of  Smerdis  was 
publicly  and  generally  known,  while  his  as- 
sassination by  Prexaspes  was  kept  a  profound 
secret.  Even  the  Persians  connected  with 
Cambyses' s  court  in  Egypt  had  not  heard  of 
the  perpetration  of  this  crime,  until  Cambyses 
confessed  it  on  his  dying  bed,  and  even  then, 
as  was  stated  in  the  last  chapter,  they  did  not 
believe  it.  It  is  not  probable  that  it  was  known 
in  Media  and  Persia ;  so  that,  after  Prexaspes 
accomplished  his  work,  and  returned  to  Cam- 
byses with  the  report  of  it,  it  was  probably  gen- 
erally supposed  that  his  brother  was  still  alive, 
and  was  residing  somewhere  in  one  or  another 
of  the  royal  palaces. 


B.C. 520.]  Smerdis  the  Magian.  61 

Precautions  taken  by  Smerdis.  Effect  of  Cambyses's  measures. 

Such  royal  personages  were  often  accustom- 
ed to  live  thus,  in  a  state  of  great  seclusion, 
spending  their  time  in  effeminate  pleasures 
within  the  walls  of  their  palaces,  parks,  and 
gardens.  When  the  royal  Smerdis,  therefore, 
secretly  and  suddenly  disappeared,  it  would  be 
very  easy  for  the  magian  Smerdis,  with  the  col- 
lusion of  a  moderate  number  of  courtiers  and 
attendants,  to  take  his  place,  especially  if  he 
continued  to  live  in  retirement,  and  exhibited 
himself  as  little  as  possible  to  public  view. 
Thus  it  was  that  Cambyses  himself,  by  the 
very  crimes  which  he  committed  to  shield  him- 
self from  all  danger  of  a  revolt,  opened  the  way 
which  specially  invited  it,  and  almost  insured 
its  success.  Every  particular  step  that  he  took, 
too,  helped  to  promote  the  end.  His  sending 
Smerdis  home  ;  his  waiting  an  interval,  and 
then  sending  Prexaspes  to  destroy  him  ;  his  or- 
dering his  assassination  to  be  secret — these,  and 
all  the  other  attendant  circumstances,  were 
only  so  many  preliminary  steps,  preparing  the 
way  for  the  success  of  the  revolution  which  was 
to  accomplish  his  ruin.  He  was,  in  a  word,  his 
own  destroyer.  Like  other  wicked  men,  he 
found,  in  the  end,  that  the  schemes  of  wicked- 
ness which  he  had  malignantly  aimed  at  the 


62  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  520. 

Opinion  in  regard  to  Smerdis.  Acquiescence  of  the  people. 

destruction  of  others,  had  been  all  the  time  slow- 
ly and  surely  working  out  his  own. 

The  people  of  Persia,  therefore,  were. prepar- 
ed by  Cambyses's  own  acts  to  believe  that  the 
usurper  Smerdis  was  really  Cyrus's  son,  and, 
next  to  Cambyses,  the  heir  to  the  throne.  The 
army  of  Cambyses,  too,  in  Egypt,  believed  the 
same.  It  was  natural  that  they  should  do  so, 
for  they  placed  no  confidence  whatever  in  Cam- 
byses's dying  declarations  ;  and  since  intelli- 
gence, which  seemed  to  be  official,  came  from 
Susa  declaring  that  Smerdis  was  still  alive,  and 
that  he  had  actually  taken  possession  of  the 
throne,  there  was  no  apparent  reason  for  doubt- 
ing the  fact.  Besides,  Prexaspes,  as  soon  as 
Cambyses  was  dead,  considered  it  safer  for  him 
to  deny  than  to  confess  having  murdered  the 
prince.  He  therefore  declared  that  Cambyses's 
story  was  false,  and  that  he  had  no  doubt  that 
Smerdis,  the  monarch  in  whose  name  the  gov- 
ernment was  administered  at  Susa,  was  the  son 
of  Cyrus,  the  true  and  rightful  heir  to  the 
throne.  Thus  all  parties  throughout  the  em- 
pire acquiesced  peaceably  in  what  they  suppos- 
ed to  be  the  legitimate  succession. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  usurper  had  placed 
himself  in  an  exceedingly  dizzy  and  precarious 


B.C. 520.]  Smerdis  the  Magian.  63 

Dangerous  situation  of  Smerdis.  Arrangement  with  Patizithes. 


situation,  and  one  which  it  would  require  a 
great  deal  of  address  and  skillful  management 
to  sustain.  The  plan  arranged  between  him- 
self and  his  brother  for  a  division  of  the  advant- 
ages which  they  had  secured  by  their  joint  and 
common  cunning  was,  that  Smerdis  was  to  en- 
joy the  ease  and  pleasure,  and  Patizithes  the 
substantial  power  of  the  royalty  which  they  had 
so  stealthily  seized.  This  was  the  safest  plan. 
Smerdis,  by  living  secluded,  and  devoting  him- 
self to  retired  and  private  pleasures,  was  the 
more  likely  to  escape  public  observation  ;  while 
Patizithes,  acting  as  his  prime  minister  of  state, 
could  attend  councils,  issue  orders,  review  troops, 
dispatch  embassies,  and  perform  all  the  other 
outward  functions  of  supreme  command,  with 
safety  as  well  as  pleasure.  Patizithes  seems  to 
have  been,  in  fact,  the  soul  of  the  whole  plan. 
He  was  ambitious  and  aspiring  in  character, 
and  if  he  could  only  himself  enjoy  the  actual 
exercise  of  royal  power,  he  was  willing  that  his 
brother  should  enjoy  the  honor  of  possessing  it. 
Patizithes,  therefore,  governed  the  realm,  act- 
ing, however,  in  all  that  he  did,  in  Smerdis's 
name. 

Smerdis,  on  his  part,  was  content  to  take 
possession  of  the  palaces,  the  parks,  and  the 


64  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 520. 

Smerdis  lives  in  retirement..  Special  grounds  of  apprehension. 

gardens  of  Media  and  Persia,  and  to  live  in  them 
in  retired  and  quiet  luxury  and  splendor.  He 
appeared  seldom  in  public,  and  then  only  under 
such  circumstances  as  should  not  expose  him 
to  any  close  observation  on  the  part  of  the  spec- 
tators. His  figure,  air,  and  manner,  and  the 
general  cast  of  his  countenance,  were  very  much 
like  those  of  the  prince  whom  he  was  attempt- 
ing to  personate.  There  was  one  mark,  how- 
ever, by  which  he  thought  that  there  was  dan- 
ger that  he  might  be  betrayed,  and  that  was, 
his  ears  had  been  cut  off.  This  had  been  done 
many  years  before,  by  command  of  Cyrus,  on 
account  of  some  offense  of  which  he  had  been 
guilty.  The  marks  of  the  mutilation  could,  in- 
deed, on  public  occasions,  be  concealed  by  the 
turban,  or  helmet,  or  other  head-dress  which  he 
wore  ;  but  in  private  there  was  great  danger  ei- 
ther that  the  loss  of  the  ears,  or  the  studied  ef- 
fort to  conceal  it,  should  be  observed.  Smerdis 
was,  therefore,  very  careful  to  avoid  being  seen 
in  private,  by  keeping  himself  closely  secluded. 
He  shut  himself  up  in  the  apartments  of  his 
palace  at  Susa,  within  the  citadel,  and  never 
invited  the  Persian  nobles  to  visit  him  there. 

Among  the  other  means  of  luxury  and  pleas- 
ure which  Smerdis  found  in  the  royal  palaces, 


B.C. 520.]  Smerdis  the  Magian.  65 

Cambyses's  wives.  Smerdis  appropriates  them. 

and  which  he  appropriated  to  his  own  enjoy- 
ment, were  Cambyses's  wives.  In  those  times, 
Oriental  princes  and  potentates — as  is,  in  fact, 
the  case  at  the  present  day,  in  many  Oriental 
countries — possessed  a  great  number  of  wives, 
who  were  bound  to  them  by  different  sorts  of 
matrimonial  ties,  more  or  less  permanent,  and 
bringing  them  into  relations  more  or  less  inti- 
mate with  their  husband  and  sovereign.  These 
wives  were  in  many  respects  in  the  condition 
of  slaves :  in  one  particular  they  were  especial- 
ly so,  namely,  that  on  the  death  of  a  sovereign 
they  descended,  like  any  other  property,  to  the 
heir,  who  added  as  many  of  them  as  he  pleased 
to  his  own  seraglio,  Until  this  was  done,  the 
unfortunate  women  were  shut  up  in  close  se- 
clusion on  the  death  of  their  lord,  like  mourn- 
ers who  retire  from  the  world  when  suffering 
any  great  and  severe  bereavement. 

The  wives  of  Cambyses  were  appropriated  by 
Smerdis  to  himself  on  his  taking  possession  of 
the  throne  and  hearing  of  Cambyses's  death. 
Among  them  was  Atossa,  who  has  already  been 
mentioned  as  the  daughter  of  Cyrus,  and,  of 
course,  the  sister  of  Oambyses  as  well  as  his 
wife.  In  order  to  prevent  these  court  ladies 
from  being  the  means,  in  any  way,  of  discover- 


66  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 520. 

Phaedyma.  Measures  of  Otanes. 

ing  the  imposture  which  he  was  practicing,  the 
magian  continued  to  keep  them  all  closely  shut 
up  in  their  several  separate  apartments,  only 
allowing  a  favored  few  to  visit  him,  one  by  one, 
in  turn,  while  he  prevented  their  having  any 
communication  with  one  another. 

The  name  of  one  of  these  ladies  was  Phesdy- 
ma.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  Persian  noble 
of  the  highest  rank  and  influence,  named  Ota- 
nes. Otanes,  as  well  as  some  other  nobles  of 
the  court,  had  observed  and  reflected  upon  the 
extraordinary  circumstances  connected  with  the 
accession  of  Smerdis  to  the  throne,  and  the  sin- 
gular mode  of  life  that  he  led  in'secluding  him- 
self, in  a  manner  so  extraordinary  for  a  Persian 
monarch,  from  all  intercourse  with  his  nobles 
and  his  people.  The  suspicions  of  Otanes  and 
his  associates  were  excited,  but  no  one  dared  to 
communicate  his  thoughts  to  the  others.  At 
length,  however,  Otanes,  who  was  a  man  of 
great  energy  as  well  as  sagacity  and  discretion, 
resolved  that  he  would  take  some  measures  to 
ascertain  the  truth. 

He  first  sent  a  messenger  to  Phsedyma,  his 
daughter,  asking  of  her  whether  it  was  really 
Smerdis,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  who  received  her 
when  she  went  to  visit  the  king.     Phaedyma, 


B.C.  520.]  Smerdis  the  Magian.  67 

Otanes's  communications  with  his  daughter.  Her  replies. 

in  return,  sent  her  father  word  that  she  did  not 
know,  for  she  had  never  seen  Smerdis,  the  son 
of  Cyrus,  "before  the  death  of  Cambyses.  She 
therefore  could  not  say,  of  her  own  personal 
knowledge,  whether  the  king  was  the  genuine 
Smerdis  or  not.  Otanes  then  sent  to  Phaedyma 
a  second  time,  requesting  her  to  ask  the  queen 
Atossa.  Atossa  was  the  sister  of  Smerdis  the 
prince,  and  had  known  him  from  his  childhood. 
Phaedyma  sent  back  word  to  her  father  that 
she  could  not  speak  to  Atossa,  for  she  was  kept 
closely  shut  up  in  her  own  apartments,  without 
the  opportunity  to  communicate  with  any  one. 
Otanes  then  sent  a  third  time  to  his  daughter, 
telling  her  that  there  was  one  remaining  mode 
by  which  she  might  ascertain  the  truth,  and 
that  was,  the  next  time  that  she  visited  the 
king,  to  feel  for  his  ears  when  he  was  asleep. 
If  it  was  Smerdis  the  magian,  she  would  find 
that  he  had  none.  He  urged  his  daughter  to 
do  this  by  saying  that,  if  the  pretended  king 
was  really  an  impostor,  the  imposture  ought  to 
be  made  known,  and  that  she,  being  of  noble 
birth,  ought  to  have  the  courage  and  energy  to 
assist  in  discovering  it.  To  this  Phaedyma  re- 
plied that  she  would  do  as  her  father  desired, 
though  she  knew  that  she  hazarded  her  fife  in 


68  Darius  the   Great.    [B.C.  520. 

Phffidyma  discovers  the  deception.  Otanes  and  the  six  nobles. 

the  attempt.  "If  he  has  no  ears,"  said  she, 
"  and  if  I  awaken  him  in  attempting  to  feel  for 
them,  he  will  kill  me ;  I  am  sure  that  he  will 
kill  me  on  the  spot." 

The  next  time  that  it  came  to  Phsedyma's 
turn  to  visit  the  king,  she  did  as  her  father  had 
requested.  She  passed  her  hand  very  cautious- 
ly beneath  the  king's  turban,  and  found  that  his 
ears  had  been  cut  off  close  to  his  head.  Early 
in  the  morning  she  communicated  the  knowl- 
edsfe  of  the  fact  to  her  father. 

o 

Otanes  immediately  made  the  case  known 
to  two  of  his  friends,  Persian  nobles,  who  had, 
with  him,  suspected  the  imposture,  and  had 
consulted  together  before  in  respect  to  the  means 
of  detecting  it.  The  question  was,  what  was 
now  to  be  done.  After  some  deliberation,  it  was 
agreed  that  each  of  them  should  communicate 
the  discovery  which  they  had  made  to  one  other 
person,  such  as  each  should  select  from  among 
the  circle  of  his  friends  as  the  one  on  whose  res- 
olution, prudence,  and  fidelity  he  could  most  im- 
plicitly rely.  This  was  done,  and  the  number 
admitted  to  the  secret  was  thus  increased  to 
six.  At  this  juncture  it  happened  that  Darius, 
the  son  of  Hystaspes,  the  young  man  who  has 
already  been  mentioned  as  the  subject  of  Cy- 


B.C.  520.]  Smerdis  the  Magian.  71 

Arrival  of  Darius.  Secret  consultations, 

rus's  dream,  came  to  Susa:  Darius  was  a  man 
of  great  prominence  and  popularity.  His  father, 
Hystaspes,  was  at  that  time  the  governor  of  the 
province  of  Persia,  and  Darius  had  been  re- 
siding with  him  in  that  country.  As  soon  as 
the  six  conspirators  heard  of  his  arrival,  they 
admitted  him  to  their  councils,  and  thus  their 
number  was  increased  to  seven. 

They  immediately  began  to  hold  secret  con- 
sultations for  the  purpose  of  determining  how 
it  was  best  to  proceed,  first  binding  themselves 
by  the  most  solemn  oaths  never  to  betray  one 
another,  however  their  undertaking  might  end. 
Darius  told  them  that  he  had  himself  discovered 
the  imposture  and  usurpation  of  Smerdis,  and 
that  he  had  come  from  Persia  for  the  purpose 
of  slaying  him  ;  and  that  now,  since  it  appeared 
that  the  secret  was  known  to  so  many,  he  was 
of  opinion  that  they  ought  to  act  at  once  with 
the  utmost  decision.  He  thought  there  would 
be  great  danger  in  delay. 

Otanes,  on  the  other  hand,  thought  that  they 
were  not  yet  ready  for  action.  They  must  first 
increase  their  numbers.  Seven  persons  were 
too  few  to  attempt  to  revolutionize  an  empire. 
He  commended  the  courage  and  resolution 
which  Darius  displayed,  but  he  thought  that  a 


72  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 520. 

Various  opinions.  Views  of  Darius. 

more  cautious  and  deliberate  policy  would  be 
far  more  likely  to  conduct  them  to  a  safe  result. 

Darius  replied  that  the  course  which  Otanes 
recommended  would  certainly  ruin  them.  "  If 
we  make  many  other  persons  acquainted  with 
our  plans,"  said  he,  "  there  will  be  some,  not- 
withstanding all  our  precautions,  who  will  be- 
tray us,  for  the  sake  of  the  immense  rewards 
which  they  well  know  they  would  receive  in 
that  case  from  the  king.  No,"  he  added,  "  we 
must  act  ourselves,  and  alone.  We  must  do 
nothing  to  excite  suspicion,  but  must  go  at  once 
into  the  palace,  penetrate  boldly  into  Smerdis's 
presence,  and  slay  him  before  he  has  time  to 
suspect  our  designs." 

"  But  we  can  not  get  into  his  presence,"  re- 
plied Otanes.  "  There  are  guards  stationed 
at  every  gate  and  door,  who  will  not  allow  us 
to  pass.  If  we  attempt  to  kill  them,  a  tumult 
will  be  immediately  raised,  and  the  alarm  given, 
and  all  our  designs  will  thus  be  baffled." 

"  There  will  be  little  difficulty  about  the 
guards,"  said  Darius.  "  They  know  us  all,  and, 
from  deference  to  our  rank  and  station,  they 
will  let  us  pass  without  suspicion,  especially  if 
we  act  boldly  and  promptly,  and  do  not  give 
them  time  to  stop  and  consider  what  to  do. 


B.C. 520.]  Smeedis  the  Magian.  73 

Apology  for  a  falsehood.  Opinion  of  Gobryas. 

Besides,  I  can  say  that  I  have  just  arrived  from 
Persia  with  important  dispatches  for  the  king, 
and  that  I  must  be  admitted  immediately  into 
his  presence.  If  a  falsehood  must  be  told,  so 
let  it  be.  T?he  urgency  of  the  crisis  demands 
and  sanctions  it." 

It  may  seem  strange  to  the  reader,  consider- 
ing the  ideas  and  habits  of  the  times,  that  Da- 
rius should  have  even  thought  it  necessary  to 
apologize  to  his  confederates  for  his  proposal  of 
employing  falsehood  in  the  accomplishment  of 
their  plans  ;  and  it  is,  in  fact,  altogether  prob- 
able that  the  apology  which  he  is  made  to  utter 
is  his  historian's,  and  not  his  own. 

The  other  conspirators  had  remained  silent 
during  this  discussion  between  Darius  and  Ota- 
nes ;  but  now  a  third,  whose  name  was  Grobry- 
as,  expressed  his  opinion  in  favor  of  the  course 
which  Darius  recommended.  He  was  aware, 
he  said,  that,  in  attempting  to  force  their  way 
into  the  king's  presence  and  kill  him  by  a  sud- 
den assault,  they  exposed  themselves  to  the 
most  imminent  danger  ;  but  it  was  better  for 
them  to  die  in  the  manly  attempt  to  bring  back 
the  imperial  power  again  into  Persian  hands, 
where  it  properly  belonged,  than  to  acquiesce 
any  further  in  its  continuance  in  the  possession 


74  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  520. 

Uneasiness  of  the  magi.  Situation  of  Prexaspes. 

of  the  ignoble  Median  priests  who  had  so  treach- 
erously usurped  it. 

To  this  counsel  they  all  finally  agreed,  and 
began  to  make  arrangements  for  carrying  their 
desperate  enterprise  into  execution. 

In  the  mean  time,  very  extraordinary  events 
were  transpiring  in  another  part  of  the  city. 
The  two  magi,  Smerdis  the  king  and  Patizithes 
his  brother,  had  some  cause,  it  seems,  to  fear 
that  the  nobles  about  the  court,  and  the  officers 
of  the  Persian  army,  were  not  without  suspi- 
cions that  the  reigning  monarch  was  not  the 
real  son  of  Cyrus.  Rumors  that  Smerdis  had 
been  killed  by  Prexaspes,  at  the  command  of 
Cambyses,  were  in  circulation.  These  rumors 
were  contradicted,  it  is  true,  in  private,  by 
Prexaspes,  whenever  he  was  forced  to  speak  of 
the  subject ;  but  he  generally  avoided  it ;  and 
he  spoke,  when  he  spoke  at  all,  in  that  timid 
and  undecided  tone  which  men  usually  assume 
when  they  are  persisting  in  a  lie.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  gloomy  recollections  of  his  past  life, 
the  memory  of  his  murdered  son,  remorse  for 
his  own  crime  in  the  assassination  of  Smerdis, 
and  anxiety  on  account  of  the  extremely  dan- 
gerous position  in  which  he  had  placed  himself 
by  his  false  denial  of  it,  all  conspired  to  harass 


B.C.520.]  Smerdis  the  Magian.  75 

Measures  of  the  magi.  An  assembly  of  the  people. 

his  mind  with  perpetual  restlessness  and  mis- 
ery, and  to  make  life  a  burden. 

In  order  to  do  something  to  quiet  the  suspi- 
cions which  the  magi  feared  were  prevailing, 
they  did  not  know  how  extensively,  they  con- 
ceived the  plan  of  inducing  Prexaspes  to  declare 
in  a  more  public  and  formal  manner  what  he 
had  been  asserting  timidly  in  private,  namely, 
that  Smerdis  had  not  been  killed.  They  ac- 
cordingly convened  an  assembly  of  the  people  in 
a  court-yard  of  the  palace,  or  perhaps  took  ad- 
vantage of  some  gathering  casually  convened, 
and  proposed  that  Prexaspes  should  address 
them  from  a  neighboring  tower.  Prexaspes  was 
a  man  of  high  rank  and  of  great  influence,  and 
the  magi  thought  that  his  public  espousal  of 
their  cause,  and  his  open  and  decided  contra- 
diction of  the  rumor  that  he  had  killed  Camby- 
ses's  brother,  would  fully  convince  the  Persians 
that  it  was  really  the  rightful  monarch  that  had 
taken  possession  of  the  throne. 

But  the  strength  even  of  a  strong  man,  when 
he  has  a  lie  to  carry,  soon  becomes  very  small. 
That  of  Prexaspes  was  already  almost  exhaust- 
ed and  gone.  He  had  been  wavering  and  hes- 
itating before,  and  this  proposal,  that  he  should 
commit  himself  so  formally  and  solemnly,  and 


76  Darius  the  (treat.   [B.C. 520 

Decision  of  Prexaspes.  His  speech  from  the  towa 

in  so  public  a  manner,  to  statements  wholly 
and  absolutely  untrue,  brought  him  to  a  stand. 
He  decided,  desperately,  in  his  own  mind,  that 
he  would  go  on  in  his  course  of  falsehood,  re- 
morse, and  wretchedness  no  longer.  He,  how- 
ever, pretended  to  accede  to  the  propositions  of 
the  magi.  He  ascended  the  tower,  and  began 
to  address  the  people.  Instead,  however,  of  de- 
nying that  he  had  murdered  Smerdis,  he  fully 
confessed  to  the  astonished  audience  that  he  had 
really  committed  that  crime;  he  openly  de- 
nounced the  reigning  Smerdis  as  an  impostor, 
and  called  upon  all  who  heard  him  to  rise  at 
once,  destroy  the  treacherous  usurper,  and  vin- 
dicate the  rights  of  the  true  Persian  line.  As 
he  went  on,  with  vehement  voice  and  gestures, 
in  this  speech,  the  utterance  of  which  he  knew 
sealed  his  own  destruction,  he  became  more  and 
more  excited  and  reckless.  He  denounced  his 
hearers  in  the  severest  language  if  they  failed 
to  obey  his  injunctions,  and  imprecated  upon 
them,  in  that  event,  all  the  curses  of  Heaven. 
The  people  listened  to  this  strange  and  sudden 
phrensy  of  eloquence  in  utter  amazement,  mo- 
tionless and  silent ;  and  before  they  or  the  offi- 
cers of  the  king's  household  who  were  present 
had  time  even  to  consider  what  to  do,  Prexas- 


B.C.  520.]  Smerdis  the   Magi  an.  77 

Death  of  Prexaspes.  The  conspirators. 

pes,  coming  abruptly  to  the  conclusion  of  his 
harangue,  threw  himself  headlong  from  the 
parapet  of  the  tower,  and  came  down  among 
them,  lifeless  and  mangled,  on  the  pavement 
below. 

Of  course,  all  was  now  tumult  and  commo- 
tion in  the  court-yard,  and  it  happened  to  be 
just  at  this  juncture  that  the  seven  conspira- 
tors came  from  the  place  of  their  consultation 
to  the  palace,  with  a  view  of  executing  their 
plans.  They  were  soon  informed  of  what  had 
taken  place.  Otanes  was  now  again  disposed 
to  postpone  their  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the 
king.  The  event  which  had  occurred  changed, 
he  said,  the  aspect  of  the  subject,  and  they  must 
wait  until  the  tumult  and  excitement  should 
have  somewhat  subsided.  But  Darius  was 
more  eager  than  ever  in  favor  of  instantaneous 
action.  He  said  that  there  was  not  a  moment 
to  be  lost;  for  the  magi,  so  soon  as  they  should 
be  informed  of  the  declarations  and  of  the  death 
of  Prexaspes,  would  be  alarmed,  and  would  take 
at  once  the  most  effectual  precautions  to  guard 
against  any  sudden  assault  or  surprise. 

These  arguments,  at  the  very  time  in  which 
Darius  was  offering  them  with  so  much  vehe- 
mence and  earnestness,  were  strengthened  by  a 


78  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C. 520. 

The  omen.  The  conspirators  enter  the  palace. 

very  singular  sort  of  confirmation ;  for  while  the 
conspirators  stood  undetermined,  they  saw  a 
flock  of  birds  moving  across  the  sky,  which,  on 
their  more  attentively  regarding  them,  proved  to 
he  seven  hawks  pursuing  two  vultures.  This 
they  regarded  an  omen,  intended  to  signify  to 
them,  by  a  divine  intimation,  that  they  ought  to 
proceed.  They  hesitated,  therefore,  no  longer. 
They  went  together  to  the  outer  gates  of  the 
palace.  The  action  of  the  guards  who  were 
stationed  there  was  just  what  Darius  had  pre- 
dicted that  it  would  be.  Awed  by  the  imposing 
spectacle  of  the  approach  of  seven  nobles  of  the 
highest  distinction,  who  were  advancing,  too, 
with  an  earnest  and  confident  air,  as  if  expect- 
ing no  obstacle  to  their  admission,  they  gave 
way  at  once,  and  allowed  them  to  enter.  The 
conspirators  went  on  until  they  came  to  the 
inner  apartments,  where  they  found  eunuchs 
in  attendance  at  the  doors.  The  eunuchs  re- 
sisted, and  demanded  angrily  why  the  guards 
had  let  the  strangers  in.  "Kill  them,"  said 
the  conspirators,  and  immediately  began  to  cut 
them  down.  The  magi  were  within,  already 
in  consternation  at  the  disclosures  of  Prexaspes, 
of  which  they  had  just  been  informed.  They 
heard  the  tumult  and  the  outcries  of  the  eu- 


B.C.  520.]  Smerdis  the  Magi  an.  79 

Combat  with  the  magi.  Flight  of  Smerdis. 

nuchs  at  the  doors,  and  seized  their  arms,  the 
one  a  bow  and  the  other  a  spear.  The  conspir- 
ators rushed  in.  The  how  was  useless  in  the 
close  combat  which  ensued,  and  the  magian 
who  had  taken  it  turned  and  fled.  The  other 
defended  himself  with  his  spear  for  a  moment, 
and  wounded  severely  two  of  his  assailants. 
The  wounded  conspirators  fell.  Three  others 
of  the  number  continued  the  unequal  combat 
with  the  armed  magian,  while  Darius  and  Go- 
bryas  rushed  in  pursuit  of  the  other. 

The  flying  magian  ran  from  one  apartment 
to  another  until  he  reached  a  dark  room,  into 
which  the  blind  instinct  of  fear  prompted  him 
to  rush,  in  the  vain  hope  of  concealment.  Gro- 
bryas  was  foremost ;  he  seized  the  wretched 
fugitive  by  the  waist,  and  struggled  to  hold  him, 
while  the  magian  struggled  to  get  free.  Gro- 
bryas  called  upon  Darius,  who  was  close  behind 
him,  to  strike.  Darius,  brandishing  his  sword, 
looked  earnestly  into  the  obscure  retreat,  that 
he  might  see  where  to  strike. 

"Strike!"  exclaimed  Grobryas.  "Why  do 
you  not  strike  ?" 

"  I  can  not  see,"  said  Darius,  "  and  I  am 
afraid  of  wounding  you." 

"  No  matter,"  said  G-obryas,  struggling  des- 


80  Darius  the   Great.    [B.C. 520. 

Smerdis  is  killed.  Exultation  of  the  conspirators. 

perately  all  the  time  with  his  frantic  victim. 
"  Strike  quick,  if  you  kill  us  both." 

Darius  struck.  (xobryas  loosened  his  hold, 
and  the  magian  fell  upon  the  floor,  and  there, 
stabbed  again  through  the  heart  by  Darius's 
sword,  almost  immediately  ceased  to  breathe. 

They  dragged  the  body  to  the  light,  and  cut 
off  the  head.  They  did  the  same  with  the  other 
magian,  whom  they  found  that  their  confeder- 
ates had  killed  when  they  returned  to  the  apart- 
ments where  they  had  left  them  contending. 
The  whole  body  of  the  conspirators  then,  except 
the  two  who  were  wounded,  exulting  in  their 
success,  and  wild  with  the  excitement  which 
such  deeds  always  awaken,  went  forth  into  the 
streets  of  the  city,  bearing  the  heads  upon  pikes 
as  the  trophies  of  their  victory.  They  sum- 
moned the  Persian  soldiers  to  arms,  and  an- 
nounced every  where  that  they  had  ascertained 
that  the  king  was  a  priest  and  an  impostor,  and 
not  their  legitimate  sovereign,  and  that  they 
had  consequently  killed  him.  They  called  upon 
the  people  to  kill  the  magians  wherever  they 
could  find  them,  as  if  the  whole  class  were  im- 
plicated in  the  guilt  of  the  usurping  brothers. 

The  populace  in  all  countries  are  easily  ex- 
cited by  such   denunciations    and   appeals   as 


B.C.  520.]  Smerdis  the  Magi  an.  81 

General  massacre  of  the  magians. 

these.  The  Persians  armed  themselves,  and 
ran  to  and  fro  every  where  in  pursuit  of  the 
unhappy  magians,  and  before  night  vast  num- 
bers of  them  were  slain. 


:.. 


) 


82  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.520. 

Confusion  at  Susa.  No  heir  to  the  throne. 


Chapter  IY. 
The  Accession  of  Darius. 

FOR  several  days  after  the  assassination  of 
the  magi  the  city  was  filled  with  excite- 
ment, tumults,  and  confusion.  There  was  no 
heir,  of  the  family  of  Cyrus,  entitled  to  succeed 
to  the  vacant  throne,  for  neither  Camhyses,  nor 
Smerdis  his  "brother,  had  left  any  sons.  There 
was,  indeed,  a  daughter  of  Smerdis,  named  Par- 
mys,  and  there  were  also  still  living  two  daugh- 
ters of  Cyrus.  One  was  Atossa,  whom  we  have 
already  mentioned  as  having  heen  married  to 
Cambyses,  her  brother,  and  as  having  been  aft- 
erward taken  by  Smerdis  the  magian  as  one  of 
his  wives.  These  princesses,  though  of  royal 
lineage,  seem  neither  of  them  to  have  been  dis- 
posed to  assert  any  claims  to  the  throne  at  such 
a  crisis.  The  mass  of  the  community  were 
stupefied  with  astonishment  at  the  sudden  rev- 
olution wjiich  had  occurred.  No  movement  was 
made  toward  determining  the  succession.  Por 
five  days  nothing  was  done. 

During  this  period,  all  the  subordinate  func- 


B.C.  520.]  Accession  of  Darius.        83 

Five  days'  interregnum.  Provisional  government. 

tions  of  government  in  the  provinces,  cities,  and 
towns,  and  among  the  various  garrisons  and 
encampments  of  the  army,  went  on,  of  course, 
as  usual,  but  the  general  administration  of  the 
government  had  no  head.  The  seven  confeder- 
ates had  been  regarded,  for  the  time  being,  as 
a  sort  of  provisional  government,  the  army  and 
the  country  in  general,  so  far  as  appears,  look- 
ing to  them  for  the  means  of  extrication  from 
the  political  difficulties  in  which  this  sudden 
revolution  had  involved  them,  and  submitting, 
in  the  mean  time,  to  their  direction  and  control. 
Such  a  state  of  things,  it  was  obvious,  could 
not  long  last ;  and  after  five  days,  when  the 
commotion  had  somewhat  subsided,  they  began 
to  consider  it  necessary  to  make  some  arrange- 
ments of  a  more  permanent  character,  the  pow- 
er to  make  such  arrangements  as  they  thought 
best  resting  with  them  alone.  They  accord- 
ingly met  for  consultation. 

Herodotus  the  historian,*  on  whose  narrative 
of  these  events  we  have  mainly  to  rely  for  all 

*  An  account  of  Herodotus,  and  of  the  circumstances  under 
which  he  wrote  his  history,  which  will  aid  the  reader  very 
much  in  forming  an  opinion  in  respect  to  the  kind  and  degree 
of  confidence  which  it  is  proper  to  place  in  his  statements, 
will  be  found  in  the  first  chapter  of  our  history  of  Cyrus  the 
Great. 


84  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  520. 

Consultation  of  the  confederates.  Otanes  in  favor  of  a  republic. 

the  information  respecting  them  which  is  now 
to  be  attained,  gives  a  very  minute  and  drama- 
tic account  of  the  deliberations  of  the  conspira- 
tors on  this  occasion.  The  account  is,  in  fact, 
too  dramatic  to  be  probably  true. 

Otanes,  in  this  discussion,  was  in  favor  of 
establishing  a  republic.  He  did  not  think  it 
safe  or  wise  to  intrust  the  supreme  power  again 
to  any  single  individual.  It  was  proved,  he 
said,  by  universal  experience,  that  when  any 
one  person  was  raised  to  such  an  elevation  above 
his  fellow-men,  he  became  suspicious,  jealous, 
insolent,  and  cruel.  He  lost  all  regard  for  the 
welfare  and  happiness  of  others,  and  became  su- 
premely devoted  to  the  preservation  of  his  own 
greatness  and  power  by  any  means,  however 
tyrannical,  and  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
purposes  of  his  own  despotic  will.  The  best 
and  most  valuable  citizens  were  as  likely  to  be- 
come the  victims  of  his  oppression  as  the  worst. 
In  fact,  tyrants  generally  chose  their  favorites, 
he  said,  from  among  the  most  abandoned  men 
and  women  in  their  realms,  such  characters  be- 
ing the  readiest  instruments  'of  their  guilty 
pleasures  and  their  crimes.  Otanes  referred 
very  particularly  to  the  case  of  Cambyses  as  an 
example  of  the  extreme  lengths  to  which  the 


B.C. 520.]  Accession  of  Darius.  So 

Otaues's  republic.  Principles  of  representation. 

despotic  insolence  and  cruelty  of  a  tyrant  could 
go.  He  reminded  his  colleagues  of  the  suffer- 
ings and  terrors  which  they  had  endured  while 
under  his  sway,  and  urged  them  very  strongly 
not  to  expose  themselves  to  such  terrible  evils 
and  dangers  again.  He  proposed,  therefore, 
that  they  should  establish  a  republic,  under 
which  the  officers  of  Government  should  be  elect- 
ed,  and  questions  of  public  policy  be  determin- 
ed, in  assemblies  of  the  people. 

It  must  be  understood,  however,  by  the 
reader,  that  a  republic,  as  contemplated  and 
intended  by  Otanes  in  this  speech,  was  en- 
tirely different  from  the  mode  of  government 
which  that  word  denotes  at  the  present  day. 
They  had  little  idea,  in  those  times,  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  representation,  by  which  the  thousand 
separate  and  detached  communities  of  a  great 
empire  can  choose  delegates,  who  are  to  delib- 
erate, speak,  and  act  for  them  in  the  assemblies 
where  the  great  governmental  decisions  are  ul- 
timately made.  By  this  principle  of  represent- 
ation, the  people  can  really  all  share  in  the 
exercise  of  power.  Without  it  they  can  not, 
for  it  is  impossible  that  the  people  of  a  great 
state  can  ever  be  brought  together  in  one  as- 
sembly ;  nor,  even  if  it  were  practicable  to  bring 


86  Darius    the    Great.   [B.C.  520. 

Large  assemblies.  Nature  of  ancient  republics. 

them  thus  together,  would  it  be  possible  for 
such  a  concourse  to  deliberate  or  act.  The  ac- 
tion of  any  assembly  which  goes  beyond  a  very 
few  hundred  in  numbers,  is  always,  in  fact,  the 
action  exclusively  of  the  small  knot  of  leaders 
who  call  and  manage  it.  Otanes,  therefore,  as 
well  as  all  other  advocates  of  republican  gov- 
ernment in  ancient  times,  meant  that  the  su- 
preme power  should  be  exercised,  not  by  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  included  within  the 
jurisdiction  in  question,  but  by  such  a  portion 
of  certain  privileged  classes  as  could  be  brought 
together  in  the  capital.  It  was  such  a  sort  of 
republic  as  would  be  formed  in  this  country  if 
the  affairs  of  the  country  at  large,  and  the  muni- 
cipal and  domestic  institutions  of  all  the  states, 
were  regulated  and  controlled  by  laws  enacted, 
and  by  governors  appointed,  at  great  municipal 
meetings  held  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

This  was,  in  fact,  the  nature  of  all  the  re- 
publics of  ancient  times.  They  were  generally 
small,  and  the  city  in  whose  free  citizens  the 
supreme  power  resided,  constituted  by  far  the 
most  important  portion  of  the  body  politic.  The 
Roman  republic,  however,  became  at  one  pe- 
riod very  large.  It  overspread  almost  the  whole 
of  Europe;  but,  Avidely  extended  as  it  was  in 


B.C.  520.]  Accession  of  Darius.  87 

Nature  of  a  representative  republic. 

territory,  and  comprising  innumerable  states 
and  kingdoms  within  its  jurisdiction,  the  vast 
concentration  of  power  by  which  the  whole  was 
governed,  vested  entirely  and  exclusively  in 
noisy  and  tumultuous  assemblies  convened  in 
the  Roman  forum. 

Even  if  the  idea  of  a  representative  system 
of  government,  such  as  is  adopted  in  modern 
times,  and  by  means  of  which  the  people  of  a 
great  and  extended  empire  can  exercise,  con- 
veniently and  efficiently,  a  general  sovereignty 
held  in  common  by  them  all,  had  been  under- 
stood in  ancient  times,  it  is  very  doubtful  wheth- 
er it  could,  in  those  times,  have  been  carried  into 
effect,  for  want  of  certain  facilities  which  are 
enjoyed  in  the  present  age,  and  which  seem  es- 
sential for  the  safe  and  easy  action  of  so  vast 
and  complicated  a  system  as  a  great  represent- 
ative government  must  necessarily  be.  The 
regular  transaction  of  business  at  public  meet- 
ings, and  the  orderly  and  successful  manage- 
ment of  any  extended  system  of  elections,  re- 
quires a  great  deal  of  writing  ;  and  the  general 
circulation  of  newspapers,  or  something  exer- 
cising the  great  function  which  it  is  the  object 
of  newspapers  to  fulfill,  that  of  keeping  the  peo- 
ple at  large  in  some  degree  informed  in  respect 


88  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 520. 

Megabyzus.  He  opposes  the  plan  of  Otanes. 

to  the  progress  of  public  affairs,  seems  essential 
to  the  successful  working  of  a  system  of  repre- 
sentative government  comprising  any  consid- 
erable extent  of  territory. 

However  this  may  be,  whether  a  great  rep- 
resentative system  would  or  would  not  have 
been  practicable  in  ancient  times  if  it  had  been 
tried,  it  is  certain  that  it  was  never  tried.  In 
all  ancient  republics,  the  sovereignty  resided,  es- 
sentially, in  a  privileged  class  of  the  people  of 
the  capital.  The  territories  governed  were 
provinces,  held  in  subjection  as  dependencies, 
and  compelled  to  pay  tribute  ;  and  this  was  the 
plan  which  Otanes  meant  to  advocate  when  rec- 
ommending a  republic,  in  the  Persian  council. 

The  name  of  the  second  speaker  in  this  cel- 
ebrated consultation  was  Megabyzus.  He  op- 
posed the  plan  of  Otanes.  He  concurred  fully, 
he  said,  in  all  that  Otanes  had  advanced  in  re- 
spect to  the  evils  of  a  monarchy,  and  to  the  op- 
pression and  tyranny  to  which  a  people  were 
exposed  whose  liberties  and  lives  were  subject 
to  the  despotic  control  of  a  single  human  will. 
But,  in  order  to  avoid  one  extreme,  it  was  not 
necessary  to  run  into  the  evils  of  the  other. 
The  disadvantages  and  dangers  of  popular  con- 
trol in  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  state 


B.C.  520.]  Accession  of  Darius.  89 

Speech  of  Megabyzus.  He  proposes  an  oligarchy. 

were  scarcely  less  than  those  of  a  despotism. 
Popular  assemblies  were  always,  he  said,  tur- 
bulent, passionate,  capricious.  Their  decisions 
were  controlled  by  artful  and  designing  dema- 
gogues. It  was  not  possible  that  masses  of  the 
common  people  could  have  either  the  sagacity 
to  form  wise  counsels,  or  the  energy  and  stead- 
iness to  execute  them.  There  could  be  no  de- 
liberation, no  calmness,  no  secrecy  in  their  con- 
sultations. A  populace  was  always  governed 
by  excitements,  which  spread  among  them  by 
a  common  sympathy  ;  and  they  would  give  way 
impetuously  to  the  most  senseless  impulses,  as 
they  were  urged  by  their  fear,  their  resentment, 
their  exultation,  their  hate,  or  by  any  other 
passing  emotion  of  the  hour. 

Megabyzus  therefore  disapproved  of  both  a 
monarchy  and  a  republic.  He  recommended 
an  oligarchy.  "  "We  are  now,"  said  he,  "  al- 
ready seven.  Let  us  select  from  the  leading 
nobles  in  the  court  and  officers  of  the  army  a 
small  number  of  men,  eminent  for  talents  and 
virtue,  and  thus  form  a  select  and  competent 
body  of  men,  which  shall  be  the  depository  of 
the  supreme  power.  Such  a  plan  avoids  the 
.evils  and  inconveniences  of  both  the  other  sys- 
tems.    There  can  be  no  tyranny  or  oppression 


90  Darius  the   Great.   [B.C. 520. 

Speech  of  Darius.  He  advocates  a  monarchy. 

under  such  a  system  ;  for,  if  any  one  of  so  largo 
a  number  should  be  inclined  to  abuse  his  pow- 
er, he  will  be  restrained  by  the  rest.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  number  will  not  be  so  large  as 
to  preclude  prudence  and  deliberation  in  coun- 
sel, and  the  highest  efficiency  and  energy  in 
carrying  counsels  into  effect." 

When  Megabyzus  had  completed  his  speech, 
Darius  expressed  his  opinion.  He  said  that  the 
arguments  of  those  who  had  already  spoken  ap- 
peared plausible,  but  that  the  speakers  had  not 
dealt  quite  fairly  by  the  different  systems  whose 
merits  they  had  discussed,  since  they  had  com- 
pared a  good  administration  of  one  form  of  gov- 
ernment with  a  bad  administration  of  another. 
Every  thing  human  was,  he  admitted,  subject 
to  imperfection  and  liable  to  abuse  ;  but  on  the 
supposition  that  each  of  the  three  forms  which 
had  been  proposed  were  equally  well  adminis- 
tered, the  advantage,  he  thought,  would  be 
strongly  on  the  side  of  monarchy.  Control  ex- 
ercised by  a  single  mind  and  will  was  far  more 
concentrated  and  efficient  than  that  proceeding 
from  any  conceivable  combination.  The  form- 
ing of  plans  could  be,  in  that  case,  more  secret 
and  wary,  and  the  execution  of  them  more  im- 
mediate and  prompt.     Where  power  was  lodg- 


B.C. 520.]  Accession  of  Darius.  91 

Four  of  the  seven  confederates  concur  with  Darius. 

ed  in  many  hands,  all  energetic  exercise  of  it 
was  paralyzed  by  the  dissensions,  the  animosi- 
ties, and  the  contending  struggles  of  envious 
and  jealous  rivals.  These  struggles,  in  fact, 
usually  resulted  in  the  predominance  of  some 
one,  more  energetic  or  more  successful  than  the 
rest,  the  aristocracy  or  the  democracy  running 
thus,  of  its  own  accord,  to  a  despotism  in  the 
end,  showing  that  there  were  natural  causes 
always  tending  to  the  subjection  of  nations  of 
men  to  the  control  of  one  single  will. 

Besides  all  this,  Darius  added,  in  conclusion, 
that  the  Persians  had  always  been  accustomed 
to  a  monarchy,  and  it  would  be  a  very  danger- 
ous experiment  to  attempt  to  introduce  a  new 
system,  which  would  require  so  great  a  change 
in  all  the  habits  and  usages  of  the  people. 

Thus  the  consultation  went  on.  At  the  end 
of  it,  it  appeared  that  four  out  of  the  seven 
agreed  with  Darius  in  preferring  a  monarchy. 
This  was  a  majority,  and  thus  the  question 
seemed  to  be  settled.  Otanes  said  that  he 
would  make  no  opposition  to  any  measures 
which  they  might  adopt  to  carry  their  decision 
into  effect,  but  that  he  would  not  himself  bo 
subject  to  the  monarchy  which  they  might  es- 
tablish.    "  I  do  not  wish,"  he  added,  "  either  to 


92  Darius  the  Great.     [B.C.  520. 

Otanes  withdraws.  Agreement  made  by  the  rest. 

govern  others  or  to  have  others  govern  me. 
You  may  establish  a  kingdom,  therefore,  if  you 
choose,  and  designate  the  monarch  in  any  mode 
that  you  see  fit  to  adopt,  hut  he  must  not  con- 
sider me  as  one  of  his  subjects.  I  myself,  and 
all  my  family  and  dependents,  must  be  wholly 
free  from  his  control." 

This  was  a  very  unreasonable  proposition, 
unless,  indeed,  Otanes  was  willing  to  withdraw 
altogether  from  the  community  to  which  he 
thus  refused  to  be  subject ;  for,  by  residing 
within  it,  he  necessarily  enjoyed  its  protection, 
and  ought,  therefore,  to  bear  his  portion  of  its 
burdens,  and  to  be  amenable  to  its  laws.  Not- 
withstanding this,  however,  the  conspirators  ac- 
ceded to  the  proposal,  and  Otanes  withdrew. 

The  remaining  six  of  the  confederates  then 
proceeded  with  their  arrangements  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  monarchy.  They  first  agreed 
that  one  of  their  own  number  should  be  the 
king,  and  that  on  whomsoever  the  choice  should 
fall,  the  other  five,  while  they  submitted  to  his 
dominion,  should  always  enjoy  peculiar  privi- 
leges and  honors  at  his  court.  They  were  at 
all  times  to  have  free  access  to  the  palaces  and 
to  the  presence  of  the  king,  and  it  was  from 
among  their  daughters  alone  that  the  king  was 


B.C.  520.]    Accession  of  Darius.         93 

Singular  mode  of  deciding  which  should  be  the  king. 

to  choose  his  wives.  These  and  some  other 
similar  points  having  been  arranged,  the  man- 
ner of  deciding  which  of  the  six  should  be  the 
king  remained  to  be  determined.  The  plan 
which  they  adopted,  and  the  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  execution  of  it,  constitute,  cer- 
tainly, one  of  the  most  extraordinary  of  all  the 
strange  transactions  recorded  in  ancient  times. 
It  is  gravely  related  by  Herodotus  as  sober 
truth.  How  far  it  is  to  be  considered  as  by  any 
possibility  credible,  the  reader  must  judge,  aft- 
er knowing  what  the  story  is. 

They  agreed,  then,  that  on  the  following 
morning  they  would  ah  meet  on  horseback  at  a 
place  agreed  upon  beyond  the  walls  of  the  city, 
and  that  the  one  whose  horse  should  neigh  first 
should  be  the  king !  The  time  when  this  ridic- 
ulous ceremony  was  to  be  performed  was  sun- 
rise. 

As  soon  as  this  arrangement  was  made  the 
parties  separated,  and  each  went  to  his  own 
home.  Darius  called  his  groom,  whose  name 
was  (E  bases,  and  ordered  him  to  have  his  horse 
ready  at  sunrise  on  the  next  morning,  explain- 
ing to  him,  at  the  same  time,  the  plan  which 
had  been  formed  for  electing  the  king.  "  If 
that  is  the  mode  which  is  to  be  adopted,"  said 


94  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 520. 

The  groom  (Ebases.  His  method  of  making  Darius's  horse  neigh. 

(E  bases,  "  you  need  have  no  concern,  for  I  can 
arrange  it  very  easily  so  as  to  have  the  lot  fall 
upon  you."  Darius  expressed  a  strong  desire 
to  have  this  accomplished,  if  it  were  possible, 
and  (Ebases  went  away. 

The  method  which  (Ebases  adopted  was  to 
lead  Darius's  horse  out  to  the  ground  that  even- 
ing, in  company  with  another,  the  favorite  com- 
panion, it  seems,  of  the  animal.  Now  the  at- 
tachment of  the  horse  to  his  companion  is  very 
strong,  and  his  recollection  of  localities  very 
vivid,  and  (Ebases  expected  that  when  the 
horse  should  approach  the  ground  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  he  would  be  reminded  of  the  com- 
pany which  he  enjoyed  there  the  night  before, 
and  neigh.  The  result  was  as  he  anticipated. 
As  the  horsemen  rode  up  to  the  appointed  place, 
the  horse  of  Darius  neighed  the  first,  and  Da- 
rius was  unanimously  acknowledged  king. 

In  respect  to  the  credibility  of  this  famous 
story,  the  first  thought  which  arises  in  the  mind 
is,  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  that  sane  men, 
acting  in  so  momentous  a  crisis,  and  where  in- 
terests so  vast  and  extended  were  at  stake, 
could  have  resorted  to  a  plan  so  childish  and  ri- 
diculous as  this.  Such  a  mode  of  designating  a 
leader,  seriously  adopted,  would  have  done  dis- 


B.C.  520.]  Accession  of  Darius.  95 

Probable  truth  or  falsehood  of  this  account. 

credit  to  a  troop  of  boys  making  arrangements 
for  a  holiday ;  and  yet  here  was  an  empire  ex- 
tending for  thousands  of  miles  through  the 
heart  of  a  vast  continent,  comprising,  probably, 
fifty  nations  and  many  millions  of  people,  with 
capitals,  palaces,  armies,  fleets,  and  all  the  oth- 
er appointments  and  machinery  of  an  immense 
dominion,  to  be  appropriated  and  disposed  of  ab- 
solutely, and,  so  far  as  they  could  see,  forever. 
It  seems  incredible  that  men  possessing  such  in- 
telligence, and  information,  and  extent  of  view 
as  we  should  suppose  that  officers  of  their  rank 
and  station  would  necessarily  acquire,  could 
have  attempted  to  decide  such  a  momentous 
question  in  so  ridiculous  and  trivial  a  manner. 
And  yet  the  account  is  seriously  recorded  by 
Herodotus  as  sober  history,  and  the  story  has 
been  related  again  and  again,  from  that  day  to 
this,  by  every  successive  generation  of  histo- 
rians, without  any  particular  question  of  its 
truth. 

And  it  may  possibly  be  that  it  is  true.  It  is 
a  case  in  which  the  apparent  improbability  is 
far  greater  than  the  real.  In  the  first  place,  it 
would  seem  that,  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  the  acts 
and  decisions  of  men  occupying  positions  of  the 
most  absolute  and  exalted  power  have  been  con- 


96  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  520. 

Ancient  statesmen.  Their  character  and  position. 

trolled,  to  a  much  greater  degree,  by  caprice  and 
by  momentary  impulse,  than  mankind  have  gen- 
erally supposed.  Looking  up  as  we  do  to  these 
vast  elevations  from  below,  they  seem  invested 
with  a  certain  sublimity  and  grandeur  which 
we  imagine  must  continually  impress  the  minds 
of  those  who  occupy  them,  and  expand  and 
strengthen  then  powers,  and  lead  them  to  act, 
in  all  respects,  with  the  circumspection,  the  de- 
liberation, and  the  far-reaching  sagacity  which 
the  emergencies  continually  arising  seem  to 
require.  And  this  is,  in  fact,  in  some  degree 
the  case  with  the  statesmen  and  political  lead- 
ers raised  to  power  under  the  constitutional  gov- 
ernments of  modern  times.  Such  statesmen 
are  clothed  with  their  high  authority,  in  one 
way  or  another,  by  the  combined  and  deliberate 
action  of  vast  masses  of  men,  and  every  step 
which  they  take  is  watched,  in  reference  to  its 
influence  on  the  condition  and  welfare  of  these 
masses,  by  many  millions ;  so  that  such  men 
live  and  act  under  a  continual  sense  of  respon- 
sibility, and  they  appreciate,  in  some  degree, 
the  momentous  importance  of  their  doings. 
But  the  absolute  and  independent  sovereigns  of 
the  Old  "World,  who  held  their  power  by  con- 
quest or  by  inheritance,  though  raised  some- 


B.C. 520.]  Accession  of  Darius.  97 

The  conspirators  governed,  in  their  decision,  by  superstitious  feelings. 

times  to  very  vast  and  giddy  elevations,  seem 
to  have  been  unconscious,  in  many  instances, 
of  the  dignity  and  grandeur  of  their  standing, 
and  to  have  considered  their  acts  only  as  they 
affected  their  own  personal  and  temporary  in- 
terests. Thus,  though  placed  on  a  great  eleva- 
tion, they  took  only  very  narrow  and  circum- 
scribed views ;  they  saw  nothing  but  the  ob- 
jects immediately  around  them ;  and  they  often 
acted,  accordingly,  in  the  most  frivolous  and 
capricious  manner. 

It  was  so,  undoubtedly,  with  these  six  con- 
spirators. In  deciding  which  of  their  number 
should  be  king,  they  thought  nothing  of  the  in- 
terests of  the  vast  realms,  and  of  the  countless 
millions  of  people  whose  government  was  to  be 
provided  for.  The  question,  as  they  considered 
it,  was  doubtless  merely  which  of  them  should 
have  possession  of  the  royal  palaces,  and  be  the 
center  and  the  object  of  royal  pomp  and  parade 
in  the  festivities  and  celebrations  of  the  capital. 

And  in  the  mode  of  decision  which  they  adopt- 
ed, it  may  be  that  some  degree  of  superstitious 
feeling  mingled.  The  action  and  the  voices  of 
animals  were  considered,  in  those  days,  as  su- 
pernatural omens,  indicating  the  will  of  heaven. 
These  conspirators  may  have  expected,  accord- 
ed 


98  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.520. 

The  conspirators  do  homage  to  Darius.  The  equestrian  statue. 

ingly,  in  the  neighing  of  the  horse,  a  sort  of  di- 
vine intimation  in  respect  to  the  disposition  of 
the  crown.  This  idea  is  confirmed  by  the  state- 
ment which  the  account  of  this  transaction  con- 
tains, that  immediately  after  the  neighing  of 
Darius's  horse,  it  thundered,  although  there 
were  no  clouds  in  the  sky  from  which  the  thun- 
der could  be  supposed  naturally  to  come.  The 
conspirators,  at  all  events,  considered  it  solemnly 
decided  that  Darius  was  to  be  king.  They  all 
dismounted  from  their  horses  and  knelt  around 
him,  in  acknowledgment  of  their  allegiance  and 
subjection. 

It  seems  that  Darius,  after  he  became  es- 
tablished on  his  throne,  considered  the  contri- 
vance by  which,  through  the  assistance  of  his 
groom,  he  had  obtained  the  prize,  not  as  an  act 
of  fraud  which  it  was  incumbent  on  him  to 
conceal,  but  as  one  of  brilliant  sagacity  which 
he  was  to  avow  and  glory  in.  He  caused  a 
magnificent  equestrian  statue  to  be  sculptured, 
representing  himself  mounted  on  his  neighing 
horse.  This  statue  he  set  up  in  a  public  place 
with  this  inscription : 

Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  obtained  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Persia  by  the  sagacity  of  his  horse 
and  the  ingenious  contrivance  of  (e bases  his 

GROOM. 


B.C.520.]       The  Provinces.  99 

Intaphernes.  He  is  denied  admittance  to  Darius. 


Chapter  V. 
The  Provinces. 

SEVERAL  of  the  events  and  incidents  which 
occurred  immediately  after  the  accession 
of  Darius  to  the  throne,  illustrate  in  a  striking 
manner  the  degree  in  which  the  princes  and  po- 
tentates of  ancient  days  were  governed  by  ca- 
price and  passionate  impulse  even  in  their  pub- 
lic acts.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these 
was  the  case  of  Intaphernes. 

Intaphernes  was  one  of  the  seven  conspira- 
tors who  combined  to  depose  the  magian  and 
place  Darius  on  the  throne.  By  the  agree- 
ment which  they  made  with  each  other  before 
it  was  decided  which  should  be  the  king,  each 
of  them  was  to  have  free  access  to  the  king's 
presence  at  all  times.  One  evening,  soon  after 
Darius  became  established  on  his  throne,  Inta- 
phernes went  to  the  palace,  and  was  proceed- 
ing to  enter  the  apartment  of  the  king  without 
ceremony,  when  he  was  stopped  by  two  officers, 
who  told  him  that  the  king  had  retired.  Inta- 
phernes was  incensed  at  the  officers'  insolence, 


100  Darius  the  (treat.  [B.C.  520. 

Intaphernes's  cruelty  to  the  two  guards.  Darius's  apprehensions. 


as  he  called  it.  He  drew  his  sword,  and  cut  off 
their  noses  and  their  ears.  Then  he  took  the 
bridle  off  from  his  horse  at  the  palace  gate,  and 
tied  the  officers  together  ;  and  then,  leaving 
them  in  this  helpless  and  miserable  condition, 
he  went  away. 

The  officers  immediately  repaired  to  the  king, 
and  presented  themselves  to  him,  a  frightful 
spectacle,  wounded  and  bleeding,  and  complain- 
ing bitterly  of  Intaphernes  as  the  author  of  the 
injuries  which  they  had  received.  The  king 
was  at  first  alarmed  for  his  own  safety.  He 
feared  that  the  conspirators  had  all  combined 
together  to  rebel  against  his  authority,  and  that 
this  daring  insult  offered  to  his  personal  attend- 
ants, in  his  very  palace,  was  the  first  outbreak 
of  it.  He  accordingly  sent  for  the  conspirators, 
one  by  one,  to  ask  of  them  whether  they  ap- 
proved of  what  Intaphernes  had  done.  They 
promptly  disavowed  all  connection  with  Inta- 
phernes in  the  act,  and  all  approval  of  it,  and 
declared  their  determination  to  adhere  to  the 
decision  that  they  had  made,  by  which  Darius 
had  been  placed  on  the  throne. 

Darius  then,  after  taking  proper  precautions 
to  guard  against  any  possible  attempts  at  re- 
sistance, sent  soldiers  to  seize  Intaphernes,  and 


B.C.520.]       The    Provinces.  101 

Intaphernes  and  family  arrested.  They  are  condemned  to  die. 

also  his  son,  and  all  of  his  family,  relatives,  and 
friends  who  were  capable  of  bearing  arms ;  for 
he  suspected  that  Intaphernes  had  meditated  a 
rebellion,  and  he  thought  that,  if  so,  these  men 
would  most  probably  be  his  accomplices.  The 
prisoners  were  brought  before  him.  There  was, 
indeed,  no  proof  that  they  were  engaged  in  any 
plan  of  rebellion,  nor  even  that  any  plan  of  re- 
bellion whatever  had  been  formed  ;  but  this  cir- 
cumstance afforded  them  no  protection.  The 
liberties  and  the  lives  of  all  subjects  were  at  the 
supreme  and  absolute  disposal  of  these  ancient 
kings.  Darius  thought  it  possible  that  the  pris- 
oners had  entertained,  or  might  entertain,  some 
treasonable  designs,  and  he  conceived  that  he 
should,  accordingly,  feel  safer  if  they  were  re- 
moved out  of  the  way.  He  decreed,  therefore, 
that  they  must  all  die. 

While  the  preparations  were  making  for  the 
execution,  the  wife  of  Intaphernes  came  con- 
tinually to  the  palace  of  Darius,  begging  for  an 
audience,  that  she  might  intercede  for  the  lives 
of  her  friends.  Darius  was  informed  of  this, 
and  at  last,  pretending  to  be  moved  with  com- 
passion for  her  distress,  he  sent  her  word  that 
he  would  pardon  one  of  the  criminals  for  her 
sake,  and  that  she  might  decide  which  one  it 


102  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C. 520. 

Alternative  offered  to  Intaphernes's  wife.  Her  strange  decision. 

should  be.  His  real  motive  in  making  this  pro- 
posal seems  to  have  been  to  enjoy  the  perplex- 
ity and  anguish  which  the  heart  of  a  woman 
must  suffer  in  being  compelled  thus  to  decide, 
in  a  question  of  life  and  death,  between  a  hus- 
band and  a  son. 

The  wife  of  Intaphernes  did  not  decide  in  fa- 
vor of  either  of  these.  She  gave  the  preference, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  a  brother.  Darius  was 
very  much  surprised  at  this  result,  and  sent  a 
messenger  to  her  to  inquire  how  it  happened 
that  she  could  pass  over  and  abandon  to  their 
fate  her  husband  and  her  son,  in  order  to  save 
the  life  of  her  brother,  who  was  certainly  to  be 
presumed  less  near  and  dear  to  her.  To  which 
she  gave  this  extraordinary  reply,  that  the  loss 
of  her  husband  and  her  son  might  perhaps  be 
repaired,  since  it  was  not  impossible  that  she 
might  be  married  again,  and  that  she  might 
have  another  son ;  but  that,  inasmuch  as  both 
her  father  and  mother  were  dead,  she  could 
never  have  another  brother.  The  death  of  her 
present  brother  would,  therefore,  be  an  irrepar- 
able loss. 

The  king  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  nov- 
elty and  unexpectedness  of  this  turn  of  thought, 
that  he  gave  her  the  life  of  her  son  in  addition 


B.C.  520.]       TheProvinces.  103 

Death  of  Intaphernes.  The  provinces. 


to  that  of  her  brother.  All  the  rest  of  the  fam- 
ily circle  of  relatives  and  friends,  together  with 
Intaphernes  himself,  he  ordered  to  be  slain. 

Darius  had  occasion  to  be  so  much  displeased, 
too,  shortly  after  his  accession  to  the  throne, 
with  the  governor  of  one  of  his  provinces,  that 
he  was  induced  to  order  him  to  be  put  to  death. 
The  circumstances  connected  with  this  gov- 
ernor's crime,  and  the  manner  of  his  execution, 
illustrate  very  forcibly  the  kind  of  government 
which  was  administered  by  these  military  des- 
pots in  ancient  times.  It  must  be  premised 
that  great  empires,  like  that  over  which  Darius 
had  been  called  to  rule,  were  generally  divided 
into  provinces.  The  inhabitants  of  these  prov- 
inces, each  community  within  its  own  borders, 
went  on,  from  year  to  year,  in  their  various 
pursuits  of  peaceful  industry,  governed  mainly, 
in  their  relations  to  each  other,  by  the  natural 
sense  of  justice  instinctive  in  man,  and  by  those 
thousand  local  institutions  and  usages  which 
are  always  springing  up  in  all  human  commu- 
nities under  the  influence  of  this  principle. 
There  were  governors  stationed  over  these  prov- 
inces, whose  main  duty  it  was  to  collect  and 
remit  to  the  king  the  tribute  which  the  prov- 
ince was  required  to  furnish  him.     These  gov- 


104  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  520. 

The  governors.  Their  independence. 

ernors  were,  of  course,  also  to  suppress  any  do- 
mestic outbreak  of  violence,  and  to  repel  any- 
foreign  invasion  which  might  occur.  A  suffi- 
cient military  force  was  placed  at  their  disposal 
to  enable  them  to  fulfill  these  functions.  They 
paid  these  troops,  of  course,  from  sums  which 
they  collected  in  their  provinces  under  the  same 
system  by  which  they  collected  the  tribute. 
This  made  them,  in  a  great  measure,  independ- 
ent of  the  king  in  the  maintenance  of  their 
armies.  They  thus  intrenched  themselves  in 
their  various  capitals  at  the  head  of  these  troops, 
and  reigned  over  their  respective  dominions  al- 
most as  if  they  were  kings  themselves.  They 
had,  in  fact,  very  little  connection  with  the  su- 
preme monarch,  except  to  send  him  the  annual 
tribute  which  they  had  collected  from  their 
people,  and  to  furnish,  also,  their  quota  of  troops 
in  case  of  a  national  war.  In  the  time  of  our 
Savior,  Pilate  was  such  a  governor,  intrusted 
by  the  Romans  with  the  charge  of  Judea,  and 
Matthew  was  one  of  the  tax  gatherers  employed 
to  collect  the  tribute. 

Of  course,  the  governors  of  such  provinces, 
as  we  have  already  said,  were,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, independent  of  the  king.  He  had,  ordina- 
rily,  no  officers   of  justice  whose  jurisdiction 


B.C.  520.]       The  Provinces.  105 

Power  of  the  governors.  Oretes,  governor  of  Sardis. 

could  control,  peacefully,  such  powerful  vassals. 
The  only  remedy  in  most  cases,  when  they 
were  disobedient  and  rebellious,  was  to  raise  an 
army  and  go  forth  to  make  war  upon  them,  as 
in  the  case  of  any  foreign  state.  This  was  at- 
tended with  great  expense,  and  trouble,  and 
hazard.  The  governors,  when  ambitious  and 
aspiring,  sometimes  managed  their  resources 
with  so  much  energy  and  military  skill  as  to 
get  the  victory  over  their  sovereign  in  the  con- 
tests in  which  they  engaged  with  them,  and 
then  »they  would  gain  vast  accessions  to  the 
privileges  and  powers  which  they  exercised  in 
their  own  departments  ;  and  they  would  some- 
times overthrow  their  discomfited  sovereign  en- 
tirely, and  take  possession  of  his  throne  them- 
selves in  his  stead. 

Oretes  was  the  name  of  one  of  these  govern- 
ors in  the  time  of  Darius.  He  had  been  placed 
by  Cyrus,  some  years  before,  in  charge  of  one 
of  the  provinces  into  which  the  kingdom  of  Lyd- 
ia  had  been  divided.  The  seat  of  government 
was  Sardis.*  He  was  a  capricious  and  cruel 
tyrant,  as,  in  fact,  almost  all  such  governors 

*  For  the  position  of  Sardis,  and  of  other  places  mentioned 
in  this  chapter,  see  the  map  at  the  commencement  of  the  vol- 
ume, and  also  that  at  the  commencement  of  chapter  xi. 


106  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 520. 

Conversation  between  Oretes  and  Mitrobates.  Polycrales. 

were.  We  will  relate  an  account  of  one  of  the 
deeds  which  he  performed  some  time  before 
Darius  ascended  the  throne,  and  which  suffi- 
ciently illustrates  his  character. 

He  was  one  day  sitting  at  the  gates  of  his 
palace  in  Sardis,  in  conversation  with  the  gov- 
ernor of  a  neighboring  territory  who  had  come 
to  visit  him.  The  name  of  this  guest  was  Mit- 
robates. As  the  two  friends  were  boasting  to 
one  another,  as  such  warriors  are  accustomed 
to  do,  of  the  deeds  of  valor  and  prowess  which 
they  had  respectively  performed.  Mitrobates 
said  that  Oretes  could  not  make  any  great 
pretensions  to  enterprise  and  bravery  so  long 
as  he  allowed  the  Greek  island  of  Samos,  which 
was  situate  at  a  short  distance  from  the  Lyd- 
ian  coast,  to  remain  independent,  when  it  would 
be  so  easy  to  annex  it  to  the  Persian  em- 
pire. "  You  are  afraid  of  Polycrates,  I  sup- 
pose," said  he.  Polycrates  was  the  king  of 
Samos. 

Oretes  was  stung  by  this  taunt,  but,  instead 
of  revenging  himself  on  Mitrobates,  the  author 
of  it,  he  resolved  on  destroying  Polycrates, 
though  he  had  no  reason  other  than  this  for 
any  feeling  of  enmity  toward  him. 

Polycrates,  although  the  seat  of  his  dominion 


B.C.520.]       The  Provinces.  107 

Dominion  of  Polycrates.  Letter  of  Amasis. 

was  a  small  island  in  the  iEgean  Sea,  was  a 
very  wealthy,  and  powerful,  and  prosperous 
prince.  All  his  plans  and  enterprises  had  been 
remarkably  successful.  He  had  built  and 
equipped  a  powerful  fleet,  and  had  conquered 
many  islands  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  own. 
He  was  projecting  still  wider  schemes  of  con- 
quests, and  hoped,  in  fact,  to  make  himself  the 
master  of  all  the  seas. 

A  very  curious  incident  is  related  of  Polyc- 
rates, which  illustrates  very  strikingly  the  child- 
ish superstition  which  governed  the  minds  of 
men  in  those  ancient  days.  It  seems  that  in 
the  midst  of  his  prosperity,  his  friend  and  ally, 
the  King  of  Egypt — for  these  events, '  though 
narrated  here,  occurred  before  the  invasion  of 
Egypt  by  Cambyses — sent  to  him  a  letter,  of 
which  the  following  is  the  purport. 

"  Amasis,  king  of  Egypt,  to  Polycrates. 

"It  always  gives  me  great  satisfaction  and 
pleasure  to  hear  of  the  prosperity  of  a  friend 
and  ally,  unless  it  is  too  absolutely  continuous 
and  uninterrupted.  Something  like  an  alterna- 
tion of  good  and  ill  fortune  is  best  for  man ;  I 
have  never  known  an  instance  of  a  very  long- 
continued  course   of  unmingled  and  uninter- 


108  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.520. 

Suggestion  of  Amasis.  Adopted  by  Polycrates. 

rupted  success  that  did  not  end,  at  last,  in 
overwhelming  and  terrible  calamity.  I  am 
anxious,  therefore,  for  you,  and  my  anxiety  will 
greatly  increase  if  this  extraordinary  and  un- 
broken prosperity  should  continue  much  longer. 
I  counsel  you,  therefore,  to  break  the  current 
yourself,  if  fortune  will  not  break  it.  Bring 
upon  yourself  some  calamity,  or  loss,  or  suffer- 
ing, as  a  means  of  averting  the  heavier  evils 
which  will  otherwise  inevitably  befall  you.  It 
is  a  general  and  substantial  welfare  only  that 
can  be  permanent  and  final." 

Polycrates  seemed  to  think  there  was  good- 
sense  in  this  suggestion.  He  began  to  look 
around  him  to  see  in  what  way  he  could  bring 
upon  himself  some  moderate  calamity  or  loss, 
and  at  length  decided  on  the  destruction  of  a 
very  valuable  signet  ring  which  he  kept  among 
his  treasures.  The  ring  was  made  with  very 
costly  jewels  set  in  gold,  and  was  much  cele- 
brated both  for  its  exquisite  workmanship  and 
also  for  its  intrinsic  value.  The  loss  of  this 
ring  would  be,  he  thought,  a  sufficient  calam- 
ity to  break  the  evil  charm  of  an  excessive  and 
unvaried  current  of  good  fortune.  Polycrates, 
therefore,  ordered  one  of  the  largest  vessels  in 


B.C.520.]       The  Provinces.  109 

Polycrates  throws  away  his  ring.  Its  singular  recovery. 

his  navy,  a  fifty-oared  galley,  to  be  equipped 
and  manned,  and,  embarking  in  it  with  a  large 
company  of  attendants,  he  put  to  sea.  When 
he  was  at  some  distance  from  the  island,  he 
took  the  ring,  and  in  the  presence  of  all  his  at- 
tendants, he  threw  it  forth  into  the  water,  and 
saw  it  sink,  to  rise,  as  he  supposed,  no  more. 

But  Fortune,  it  seems,  was  not  to  be  thus 
outgeneraled.  A  few  days  after  Polycrates 
had  returned,  a  certain  fisherman  on  the  coast 
took,  in  his  nets,  a  fish  of  very  extraordinary 
size  and  beauty  ;  so  extraordinary,  in  fact,  that 
he  felt  it  incumbent  on  him  to  make  a  present 
of  it  to  the  king.  The  servants  of  Polycrates, 
on  opening  the  fish  for  the  purpose  of  preparing 
it  for  the  table,  to  their  great  astonishment  and 
gratification,  found  the  ring  within.  The  king 
was  overjoyed  at  thus  recovering  his  lost  treas- 
ure ;  he  had,  in  fact,  repented  of  his  rashness 
in  throwing  it  away,  and  had  been  bitterly  la- 
menting its  loss.  His  satisfaction  and  pleasure 
were,  therefore,  very  great  in  regaining  it ;  and 
he  immediately  sent  to  Amasis  an  account  of 
the  whole  transaction,  expecting  that  Amasis 
would  share  in  his  joy. 

Amasis,  however,  sent  word  back  to  him  in 
reply,  that  he  considered  the  return  of  the  ring 


110  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.520. 

Predictions  of  Amasis.  Their  fulfillment. 

in  that  almost  miraculous  manner  as  an  ex- 
tremely unfavorable  omen.  "  I  fear,"  said  he, 
"  that  it  is  decreed  by  the  Fates  that  you  must 
be  overwhelmed,  at  last,  by  some  dreadful  ca- 
lamity, and  that  no  measures  of  precaution 
which  you  can  adopt  will  avail  to  avert  it.  It 
seems  to  me,  too,"  he  added,  "  that  it  is  incum- 
bent on  me  to  withdraw  from  all  alliance  and 
connection  with  you,  lest  I  should  also,  at  last, 
be  involved  in  your  destined  destruction." 

"Whether  this  extraordinary  story  was  true, 
or  whether  it  was  all  fabricated  after  the  fall 
of  Polycrates,  as  a  dramatic  embellishment  of 
his  history,  we  can  not  now  know.  The  result, 
however,  corresponded  with  these  predictions  of 
Amasis,  if  they  were  really  made ;  for  it  was 
soon  after  these  events  that  the  conversation 
took  place  at  Sardis  between  Oretes  and  Mitro- 
bates,  at  the  gates  of  the  palace,  which  led  Ore- 
tes to  determine  on  effecting  Polycrates's  de- 
struction. 

In  executing  the  plans  which  he  thus  formed, 
Oretes  had  not  the  courage  and  energy  neces- 
sary for  an  open  attack  on  Polycrates,  and  he 
consequently  resolved  on  attempting  to  accom- 
plish his  end  by  treachery  and  stratagem. 

The  plan  which  he  devised  was  this  :  He  sent 


B.C.520.]        The  Provinces.  Ill 

Letter  of  Oretes.  His  hypocrisy. 

a  messenger  to  Polycrates  with  a  letter  of  the 
following  purport : 

"  Oretes,  governor  of  Sardis,  to  Polycrates  of 
Samos. 
"  I  am  aware,  sire,  of  the  plans  which  you 
have  long  heen  entertaining  for  extending  your 
power  among  the  islands  and  over  the  waters 
of  the  Mediterranean,  until  you  shall  have  ac- 
quired the  supreme  and  absolute  dominion  of 
the  seas.  I  should  like  to  join  you  in  this  en- 
terprise. You  have  ships  and  men,  and  I  have 
money.  Let  us  enter  into  an  alliance  with 
each  other.  I  have  accumulated  in  my  treas- 
uries a  large  supply  of  gold  and  silver,  which  I 
will  furnish  for  the  expenses  of  the  undertak- 
ing. If  you  have  any  doubt  of  my  sincerity  in 
making  these  offers,  and  of  my  ability  to  fulfill 
them,  send  some  messenger  in  whom  you  have 
confidence,  and  I  will  lay  the  evidence  before 
him." 

Polycrates  was  much  pleased  at  the  prospect 
of  a  large  accession  to  his  funds,  and  he  sent 
the  messenger,  as  Oretes  had  proposed.  Oretes 
prepared  to  receive  him  by  filling  a  large  num- 
ber of  boxes  nearly  full  with  heavy  stones,  and 


112  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 520. 

The  pretended  treasure.  Fears  of  Polycrates's  daughter. 

then  placing  a  shallow  layer  of  gold  or  silver 
coin  at  the  top.  These  boxes  were  then  suit- 
ably covered  and  secured,  with  the  fastenings 
usually  adopted  in  those  days,  and  placed  away 
in  the  royal  treasuries.  When  the  messenger 
arrived,  the  boxes  were  brought  out  and  open- 
ed, and  were  seen  by  the  messenger  to  be  full, 
as  he  supposed,  of  gold  and  silver  treasure.  The 
messenger  went  back  to  Polycrates,  and  report- 
ed that  all  which  Oretes  had  said  was  true; 
and  Polycrates  then  determined  to  go  to  the 
main  land  himself  to  pay  Oretes  a  visit,  that 
they  might  mature  together  their  plans  for  the 
intended  campaigns.  He  ordered  a  fifty-oared 
galley  to  be  prepared  to  convey  him. 

His  daughter  felt  a  presentiment,  it  seems, 
that  some  calamity  was  impending.  She  earn- 
estly entreated  her  father  not  to  go.  She  had 
had  a  dream,  she  said,  about  him,  which  had 
frightened  her  excessively,  and  which  she  Wffs 
convinced  portended  some  terrible  danger.  Po- 
lycrates paid  no  attention  to  his  daughter's  warn- 
ings. She  urged  them  more  and  more  earnest- 
ly, until,  at  last,  she  made  her  father  angry,  and 
then  she  desisted.  Polycrates  then  embarked 
on  board  his  splendid  galley,  and  sailed  away. 
As  soon  as  he  landed  in  the  dominions  of  Ore- 


B.C.  520.]       The    Provinces.  113 

Oretes  murders  Polycrates.  He  commits  other  murders. 

tes,  the  monster  seized  him  and  put  him  to 
death,  and  then  ordered  his  body  to  be  nailed  to 
a  cross,  for  exhibition  to  all  passers  by,  as  a 
public  spectacle.  The  train  of  attendants  and 
servants  that  accompanied  Polycrates  on  this 
expedition  were  all  made  slaves,  except  a  few 
persons  of  distinction,  who  were  sent  home  in  a 
shameful  and  disgraceful  manner.  Among  the 
attendants  who  were  detained  in  captivity  by 
Oretes  was  a  celebrated  family  physician,  nam- 
ed Democedes,  whose  remarkable  and  romantic 
adventures  will  be  the  subject  of  the  next 
chapter. 

Oretes  committed  several  other  murders  and 
assassinations  in  this  treacherous  manner,  with- 
out any  just  ground  for  provocation.  In  these 
deeds  of  violence  and  cruelty,  he  seems  to  have 
acted  purely  under  the  influence  of  that  wan- 
ton and  capricious  malignity  which  the  posses- 
sion of  absolute  and  irresponsible  power  so  often 
engenders  in  the  minds  of  bad  men.  It  is 
doubtful,  however,  whether  these  cruelties  and 
crimes  would  have  particularly  attracted  the 
attention  of  Darius,  so  long  as  he  was  not  him- 
self directly  affected  by  them.  The  central  gov- 
ernment, in  these  ancient  empires,  generally  in- 
terested itself  very  little  in  the  contentions  and 
H 


114  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  520. 

Oretes  destroys  Darius's  messenger.  Darius  is  incensed. 

quarrels  of  the  governors  of  the  provinces,  pro- 
ided  that  the  tribute  was  efficiently  collected 
.nd  regularly  paid. 

A  case,  however,  soon  occurred,  in  Oretes's 
reacherous  and  bloody  career,  which  arrested 
iie  attention  of  Darius  and  aroused  his  ire. 
Darius  had  sent  a  messenger  to  Oretes,  with 
certain  orders,  which,  it  seems,  Oretes  did  not 
like  to  obey.  After  delivering  his  dispatches, 
the  bearer  set  out  on  his  return,  and  was  never 
afterward  heard  of.  Darius  ascertained,  to  his 
own  satisfaction  at  least,  that  Oretes  had  caus- 
ed his  messenger  to  be  waylaid  and  killed,  and 
that  the  bodies  both  of  horse  and  rider  had  been 
buried,  secretly,  in  the  solitudes  of  the  mount- 
ains, in  order  to  conceal  the  evidences  of  the 
deed. 

Darius  determined  on  punishing  this  crime. 
Some  consideration  was,  however,  required,  in 
order  to  determine  in  what  way  his  object  could 
best  be  effected.  The  province  of  Oretes  was 
at  a  great  distance  from  Susa,  and  Oretes  was 
strongly  established  there,  at  the  head  of  a  great 
force.  His  guards  were  bound,  it  is  true,  to 
obey  the  orders  of  Darius,  but  it  was  question- 
able whether  they  would  do  so.  To  raise  an 
army  and  march  against  the  rebellious  govern- 


B.C.520.]        The  Provinces.  115 

Plan  of  Darius  for  punishing  Oretes.  His  proposal. 

or  would  be  an  expensive  and  hazardous  under- 
taking, and  perhaps,  too,  it  would  prove  that 
such  a  measure  was  not  necessary.  All  things 
considered,  Darius  determined  to  try  the  exper- 
iment of  acting,  "by  his  own  direct  orders,  upon 
the  troops  and  guards  in  Oretes's  capital,  with 
the  intention  of  resorting  subsequently  to  an 
armed  force  of  his  own,  if  that  should  be  at  last 
required. 

He  accordingly  called  together  a  number  of 
his  officers  and  nobles,  selecting  those  on  whose 
resolution  and  fidelity  he  could  most  confidently 
rely,  and  made  the  following  address  to  them : 

"  I  have  an  enterprise  which  I  wish  to  com- 
mit to  the  charge  of  some  one  of  your  number 
who  is  willing  to  undertake  it,  which  requires 
no  military  force,  and  no  violent  measures  of 
any  kind,  but  only  wisdom,  sagacity,  and  cour- 
age. I  wish  to  have  Oretes,  the  governor  of 
Sardis,  brought  to  me,  dead  or  alive.  He  has 
perpetrated  innumerable  crimes,  and  now,  in 
addition  to  all  his  other  deeds  of  treacherous  vi- 
olence, he  has  had  the  intolerable  insolence  to 
put  to  death  one  of  my  messengers.  Which  of 
you  will  volunteer  to  bring  him,  dead  or  alive, 
to  me  ?" 

This  proposal  awakened  a  great  enthusiasm 


11G  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 520. 

Commission  of  Bagseus.  His  plan. 

among  the  nobles  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 
Nearly  thirty  of  them  volunteered  their  services 
to  execute  the  order.  Darius  concluded  to  de- 
cide between  these  competitors  by  lot.  The  lot 
fell  upon  a  certain  man  named  Bagseus,  and  he 
immediately  began  to  form  his  plans  and  make 
his  arrangements  for  the  expedition. 

He  caused  a  number  of  different  orders  to  be 
prepared,  beginning  with  directions  of  little  mo- 
ment, and  proceeding  to  commands  of  more  and 
more  weighty  importance,  all  addressed  to  the 
officers  of  Oretes's  army  and  to  his  guards. 
These  orders  were  all  drawn  up  in  writing  with 
great  formality,  and  were  signed  by  the  name 
of  Darius,  and  sealed  with  his  seal ;  they,  more- 
over, named  Bagseus  as  the  officer  selected  by 
the  king  to  superintend  the  execution  of  them. 
Provided  with  these  documents,  Bagaeus  pro- 
ceeded to  Sardis,  and  presented  himself  at  the 
court  of  Oretes.  He  presented  his  own  person- 
al credentials,  and  with  them  some  of  his  most 
insignificant  orders.  Neither  Oretes  nor  his 
guards  felt  any  disposition  to  disobey  them. 
Bagseus,  being  thus  received  and  recognized  as 
the  envoy  of  the  king,  continued  to  present  new 
decrees  and  edicts,  from  time  to  time,  as  occa- 
sions occurred  in  which  he  thought  the  guards 


B.C.  520.]        The  Provinces.  117 

Oretes  beheaded.  Divisions  of  Darius's  empire. 

would  be  ready  to  obey  them,  until  he  found 
the  habit,  on  their  part,  of  looking  to  him  as 
the  representative  of  the  supreme  power  suffi- 
ciently established  ;  for  their  disposition  to  obey 
him  was  not  merely  tested,  it  was  strengthened 
by  every  new  act  of  obedience.  When  he  found, 
at  length,  that  his  hold  upon  the  guards  was 
sufficiently  strong,  he  produced  his  two  final 
decrees,  one  ordering  the  guards  to  depose  Ore- 
tes from  his  power,  and  the  other  to  behead  him. 
Both  the  commands  were  obeyed. 

The  events  and  incidents  which  have  been 
described  in  this  chapter  were  of  no  great  im- 
portance in  themselves,  but  they  illustrate,  more 
forcibly  than  any  general  description  would  do, 
the  nature  and  the  operation  of  the  government 
exercised  by  Darius  throughout  the  vast  em- 
pire over  which  he  found  himself  presiding. 

Such  personal  and  individual  contests  and 
transactions  were  not  all  that  occupied  his  at- 
tention. He  devoted  a  great  deal  of  thought  and 
of  time  to  the  work  of  arranging,  in  a  distinct 
and  systematic  manner,  the  division  of  his  do- 
minions into  provinces,  and  to  regulating  pre- 
cisely the  amount  of  tribute  to  be  required  of 
each,  and  the  modes  of  collecting  it.  He  di- 
vided his   empire  into  twenty  great  districts, 


118  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.  520- 

Tribute  of  the  satrapies.  The  white  horses. 

each  of  which  was  governed  by  a  ruler  called  a 
satrap.  He  fixed  the  amount  of  tribute  which 
each  of  these  districts  was  to  pay,  making  it 
greater  or  less  as  the  soil  and  the  productions 
of  the  country  varied  in  fertility  and  abundance. 
In  some  cases  this  tribute  was  to  be  paid  in 
gold,  in  others  in  silver,  and  in  others  in  pecu- 
liar commodities,  natural  to  the  country  of 
which  they  were  required.  For  example,  one 
satrapy,  which  comprised  a  country  famous  for 
its  horses,  was  obliged  to  furnish  one  white 
horse  for  every  day  in  the  year.  This  made 
three  hundred  and  sixty  annually,  that  being 
the  number  of  days  in  the  Persian  year.  Such 
a  supply,  furnished  yearly,  enabled  the  king 
soon  to  have  a  very  large  troop  of  white  horses ; 
and  as  the  horses  were  beautifully  caparisoned, 
and  the  riders  magnificently  armed,  the  body 
of  cavalry  thus  formed  was  one  of  the  most 
splendid  in  the  world. 

The  satrapies  were  numbered  from  the  west 
toward  the  east.  The  western  portion  of  Asia 
Minor  constituted  the  first,  and  the  East  Indian 
nations  the  twelfth  and  last.  The  East  In- 
dians had  to  pay  their  tribute  in  ingots  of  gold. 
Their  country  produced  gold. 

As  it  is  now  forever  too  late  to  separate  the 


B.C.  520.]       The    Provinces.  119 

The  gold  oflndia.  Mode  of  gathering  it. 

facts  from  the  fiction  of  ancient  history,  and  de- 
termine what  is  to  be  rejected  as  false  and  what 
received  as  true,  our  only  resource  is  to  tell  the 
whole  story  just  as  it  comes  down  to  us,  leav- 
ing it  to  each  reader  to  decide  for  himself  what 
he  will  believe.  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  we 
will  conclude  this  chapter  by  relating  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  was  said  in  ancient  times  that 
these  Indian  nations  obtained  their  gold. 

The  gold  country  was  situated  in  remote  and 
dreary  deserts,  inhabited  only  by  wild  beasts 
and  vermin,  among  which  last  there  was,  it 
seems,  a  species  of  ants,  which  were  of  enor- 
mous size,  and  wonderful  fierceness  and  voraci- 
ty, and  which  could  run  faster  than  the  fleetest 
horse  or  camel.  These  ants,  in  making  their 
excavations,  would  bring  up  from  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  ground  all  the  particles  of  gold 
which  came  in  their  way,  and  throw  them  out 
around  their  hills.  The  Indians  then  would  pen- 
etrate into  these  deserts,  mounted  on  the  fleetest 
camels  that  they  could  procure,  and  leading  oth- 
er camels,  not  so  fleet,  by  their  sides.  They 
were  provided,  also,  with  bags  for  containing 
the  golden  sands.  "When  they  arrived  at  the 
ant  hills,  they  would  dismount,  and,  gathering 
up  the  gold  which  the  ants  had  discarded,  would 


120  Darius    the    Great.  [B.C.520. 

The  wonderful  ants.  Their  prodigious  size. 

fill  their  bags  with  the  utmost  possible  dispatch, 
and  then  mount  their  camels  and  ride  away. 
The  ants,  in  'the  mean  time,  would  take  the 
alarm,  and  begin  to  assemble  to  attack  them; 
but  as  their  instinct  prompted  them  to  wait 
until  considerable  numbers  were  collected  be- 
fore they  commenced  their  attack,  the  Indians 
had  time  to  fill  their  bags  and  begin  their  flight 
before  their  enemies  were  ready.  Then  com- 
menced the  chase,  the  camels  running  at  their 
full  speed,  and  the  swarms  of  ants  following, 
and  gradually  drawing  nearer  and  nearer.  At 
length,  when  nearly  overtaken,  the  Indians 
would  abandon  the  camels  that  they  were  lead- 
ing, and  fly  on,  more  swiftly,  upon  those  which 
they  rode.  "While  the  ants  were  busy  in  devour- 
ing the  victims  thus  given  up  to  them,  the  au- 
thors of  all  the  mischief  would  make  good  their 
escape,  and  thus  carry  off  their  gold  to  a  place 
of  safety.  These  famous  ants  were  bigger  than 
foxes ! 


B.C.  519.]  Greece  Reconnoitered.  123 

The  reconnoitering  party.  The  physician  Democedes. 


Chapter  VI. 

T*he  Reconnoitering  of  Gtreece. 

npHE  great  'event  in  the  history  of  Darius — 
-*-  the  one,  in  fact,  on  account  of  which  it  was, 
mainly,  that  his  name  and  his  career  have  been 
so  widely  celebrated  among  mankind,  was  an 
attempt  which  he  made,  on  a  very  magnificent 
scale,  for  the  invasion  and  conquest  of  Greece. 
Before  commencing  active  operations  in  this 
grand  undertaking,  he  sent  a  reconnoitering 
party  to  examine  and  explore  the  ground.  This 
reconnoitering  party  met  with  a  variety  of  ex- 
traordinary adventures  in  the  course  of  its  prog- 
ress, and  the  history  of  it  will  accordingly  form 
the  subject  of  this  chapter. 

The  guide  to  this  celebrated  reconnoitering 
party  was  a  certain  Greek  physician  named 
Democedes.  Though  Democedes  was  called  a 
G-reek,  he  was,  really,  an  Italian  by  birth.  His 
native  town  was  Crotona,  which  may  be  found 
exactly  at  the  ball  of  the  foot  on  the  map  of 
Italy.  It  was  by  a  very  singular  series  of  ad- 
ventures that  he  passed  from  this  remote  vil- 


124  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 519. 

Siory  of  Democedes.  His  boyhood 

lage  in  the  west,  over  thousands  of  miles  by 
land  and  sea,  to  Susa,  Darius's  capital.  He 
began  by  running  away  from  his  father  while 
he  was  still  a  boy.  He  said  that  he  was  driven 
to  this  step  by  the  intolerable  strictness  and 
cruelty  of  his  father's  government.  This,  "how- 
ever, is  always  the  pretext  of  turbulent  and 
ungovernable  young  men,  who  abandon  their 
parents  and  their  homes  when  the  favors  and  the 
protection  necessary  during  their  long  and  help- 
less infancy  have  been  all  received,  and  the 
time  is  beginning  to  arrive  for  making  some 
return. 

Democedes  was  ingenious  and  cunning,  and 
fond  of  roving  adventure.  In  running  away 
from  home,  he  embarked  on  board  a  ship,  as 
such  characters  generally  do  at  the  present  day, 
and  went  to  sea.  After  meeting  with  various 
adventures,  he  established  himself  in  the  island 
of  Egina,  in  the  iEgean  sea,  where  he  began 
to  practice  as  a  physician,  though  he  had  had 
no  regular  education  in  that  art.  In  his  prac- 
tice he  evinced  so  much  medical  skill,  or,  at 
least,  exercised  so  much  adroitness  in  leading 
people  to  believe  that  he  possessed  it,  as  to  give 
him  very  soon  a  wide  and  exalted  reputation. 
The  people  of  Egina  appointed  him  tjieir  phy 


B.C. 519.]  G-reece  Reconnoitered.     125 

Democedes  at  Egina.  At  Athens.  At  the  court  of  Polycratcs. 

sician,  and  assigned  him  a  large  salary  for  his 
services  in  attending  upon  the  sick  throughout 
the  island.  Tins  was  the  usual  practice  in 
those  days.  A  town,  or  an  island,  or  any  cir- 
cumscribed district  of  country,  would  appoint 
a  physician  as  a  public  officer,  who  was  to  de- 
vote his  attention,  at  a  fixed  annual  salary,  to 
any  cases  of  sickness  which  might  arise  in  the 
community,  wherever  his  services  were  needed, 
precisely  as  physicians  serve  in  hospitals  and 
public  institutions  in  modern  times. 

Democedes  remained  at  JEgina  two  years, 
during  which  time  his  celebrity  increased  and 
extended  more  and  more,  until,  at  length,  he 
received  an  appointment  from  the  city  of  Ath- 
ens, with  the  offer  of  a  greatly  increased  salary. 
He  accepted  the  appointment,  and  remained  in 
Athens  one  year,  when  he  received  still  more 
advantageous  offers  from  Polycrates,  the  king 
of  Samos,  whose  history  was  given  so  fully  in 
the  last  chapter. 

Democedes  remained  for  some  time  in  the 
court  of  Polycrates,  where  he  was  raised  to  the 
highest  distinction,  and  loaded  with  many  hon- 
ors. He  was  a  member  of  the  household  of  the 
king,  enjoyed  his  confidence  in  a  high  degree, 
and  attended  him,  personally,  on  all  his  expo- 


126  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C. 519." 

Dcmocedes  a  captive.  He  is  sent  to  Darius. 

ditions.  At  last,  when  Polycrates  went  to  Sar- 
dis,  as  is  related  in  the  last  chapter,  to  receive 
the  treasures  of  Oretes,  and  concert  with  him 
the  plans  for  their  proposed  campaigns,  Demo- 
cedes  accompanied  him  as  usual ;  and  when 
Polycrates  was  slain,  and  his  attendants  and 
followers  were  made  captive  by  Oretes,  the  un- 
fortunate physician  was  among  the  number. 
By  this  reverse,  he  found  that  he  had  suddenly 
fallen  from  affluence,  ease,  and  honor,  to  the 
condition  of  a  neglected  and  wretched  captive 
in  the  hands  of  a  malignant  and  merciless  ty- 
rant. 

Democedes  pined  in  this  confinement  for  a 
long  time ;  when,  at  length,  Oretes  himself  was 
killed  by  the  order  of  Darius,  it  might  have 
been  expected  that  the  hour  of  his  deliverance 
had  arrived.  But  it  was  not  so  ;  his  condition 
was,  in  fact,  made  worse,  and  not  better  by  it ; 
for  Bagreus,  the  commissioner  of  Darius,  instead 
of  inquiring  into  the  circumstances  relating  to 
the  various  members  of  Oretes's  family,  and 
redressing  the  wrongs  which  any  of  them  might 
be  suffering,  simply  seized  the  whole  company, 
and  brought  them  all  to  Darius  in  Susa,  as 
trophies  of  his  triumph,  and  tokens  of  the  faith- 
fulness and  efficiency  with  which  he  had  exe- 


B.C.  519.]  Greece  Reconnoitered.  127 

Dcmocedcs  is  cast  into  prison.  His  wretched  condition. 

cutecl  the  work  that  Darius  had  committed  to 
his  charge.  Thus  Democedes  was  home  away, 
in  hopeless  "bondage,  thousands  of  miles  farther 
from  his  native  land  than  "before,  and  with 
very  little  prospect  of  being  ever  able  to  re- 
turn. He  arrived  at  Susa,  destitute,  squalid, 
and  miserable.  His  language  was  foreign,  his 
rank  and  his  professional  skill  unknown,  and 
all  the  marks  which  might  indicate  the  refine- 
ment and  delicacy  of  the  modes  of  life  to  which 
he  had  been  accustomed  were  wholly  disguised 
by  his  present  destitution  and  wretchedness. 
He  was  sent  with  the  other  captives  to  the 
prisons,  where  he  was  secured,  like  them,  with 
fetters  and  chains,  and  was  soon  almost  entirely 
forgotten.  • 

He  might  have  taken  some  measures  for 
making  his  character,  and  his  past  celebrity 
and  fame  as  a  physician  known;  but  he  did 
not  dare  to  do  this,  for  fear  that  Darius  might 
learn  to  value  his  medical  skill,  and  so  detain 
him  as  a  slave  for  the  sake  of  his  services.  He 
thought,  that  the  chance  was  greater  that  some 
turn  of  fortune,  or  some  accidental  change  in 
the  arrangements  of  government  might  take 
place,  by  which  he  might  be  set  at  liberty,  as 
an  insignificant  and  worthless  captive,  whom 


128  Darius  the   Great.   [B.C. 519. 

Darius  sprains  his  ankle.  The  Egyptian  physicians  baffled.  , 

there  was  no  particular  motive  for  detaining, 
than  if  he  were  transferred  to  the  king's  house- 
hold as  a  slave,  and  his  value  as  an  artisan — 
for  medical  practice  was,  in  those  days,  simply 
an  art — were  once  known.  He  made  no  effort, 
therefore,  to  bring  his  true  character  to  light, 
but  pined  silently  in  his  dungeon,  in  rags  and 
wretchedness,  and  in  a  mental  despondency 
which  was  gradually  sinking  into  despair. 

About  this  time,  it  happened  that  Darius  was 
one  day  riding  furiously  in  a  chase,  and  coming 
upon  some  sudden  danger,  he  attempted  to  leap 
from  his  horse.  He  fell  and  sprained  his  ankle. 
He  was  taken  up  by  the  attendants,  and  carried 
home.  His  physicians  were  immediately  called 
to  attend  to  the  case.  They  were  Egyptians. 
Egypt  was,  in  fact,  considered  the  great  seat 
and  centre  of  learning  and  of  the  arts  in  those 
days,  and  no  royal  household  was  complete 
without  Egyptian  physicians. 

The  learning  and  skill,  however,  of  the  Egyp- 
tians in  Darius's  court  were  entirely  baffled  by 
the  sprain.  They  thought  that  the  joint  was 
dislocated,  and  they  turned  and  twisted  the  foot 
with  so  much  violence,  in  their  attempts  to  re- 
store the  bones  to  their  proper  position,  as  great- 
ly to  increase  the  pain  and  the  inflammation. 


B.C. 519.]  Greece  Reconnoitered.  129 

Sufferings  of  Darius.  He  sends  for  Democedes. 

Darius  spent  a  week  in  extreme  and  excruci- 
ating suffering.  He  could  not  sleep  day  nor 
night,  but  tossed  in  continual  restlessness  and 
anguish  on  his  couch,  made  constantly  worse 
instead  of  better  by  every  effort  of  his  physi- 
cians to  relieve  him. 

At  length  somebody  informed  him  that  there 
was  a  Grreek  physician  among  the  captives  that 
came  from  Sardis,  and  recommended  that  Da- 
rius should  send  for  him.  The  king,  in  his  im- 
patience and  pain,  was  ready  for  any  experi- 
ment which  promised  the  least  hope  of  relief, 
and  he  ordered  that  Democedes  should  be  im- 
mediately summoned.  The  officers  accordingly 
went  to  the  prison  and  brought  out  the  aston- 
ished captive,  without  any  notice  or  prepara- 
tion, and  conducted  him,  just  as  he  was,  rag- 
ged and  wretched,  and  shackled  with  iron  fet- 
ters upon  his  feet,  into  the  presence  of  the  king. 
The  fetters  which  such  captives  wore  were  in- 
tended to  allow  them  to  walk,  slowly  and  with 
difficulty,  while  they  impeded  the  movements 
of  the  feet  so  as  effectually  to  prevent  any  long 
or  rapid  flight,  or  any  escape  at  all  from  free 
pursuers. 

Democedes,  when  questioned  by  Darius,  de- 
nied at  first  that  he  possessed  any  medical 
I 


130  Darius   the    Great.    [B.C.  523. 

Democedes's  denial.  He  treats  the  sprain  successfully. 

knowledge  or  skill.  Darius  was,  however,  not 
deceived  "by  these  protestations.  It  was  very 
customary,  in  those  days  of  royal  tyranny,  for 
those  who  possessed  any  thing  valuable  to  con- 
ceal the  possession  of  it :  concealment  was  often 
their  only  protection.  Darius,  who  was  well 
aware  of  this  tendency,  did  not  "believe  the  as- 
surances of  Democedes,  and  in  the  irritation 
and  impatience  caused  hy  his  pain,  he  ordered 
the  captive  to  he  taken  out  and  put  to  the  tor- ' 
ture,  in  order  to  make  him  confess  that  he  was 
really  a  physician. 

Democedes  yielded  without  waiting  to  he  act- 
ually put  to  the  test.  He  acknowledged  at  once, 
for  fear  of  the  torture,  that  he  had  had  some 
experience  in  medical  practice,  and  the  sprained 
ankle  was  immediately  committed  to  his  charge. 
On  examining  the  case,  he  thought  that  the 
harsh  and  violent  operations  which  the  Egyp- 
tian physicians  had  attempted  were  not  re- 
quired. He  treated  the  inflamed  and  swollen 
joint  in  the  gentlest  manner.  He  made  fo- 
menting and  emollient  applications,  which  sooth- 
ed the  pain,  subdued  the  inflammation,  and  al- 
layed the  restlessness  and  the  fever.  The  royal 
sufferer  became  quiet  and  calm,  and  in  a  short 
time  fell  asleep. 


B.C. 519.]  Greece  Reconnoitered.  131 

Darius's  recovery.  The  golden  fetters 

In  a  word,  the  king  rapidly  recovered ;  and, 
overwhelmed  with  gratitude  toward  the  bene- 
factor whose  skill  had  saved  him  from  such  suf- 
fering, he  ordered  that,  in  place  of  his  single 
pair  of  iron  fetters,  he  should  have  two  pahs  of 
fetters  of  gold ! 

It  might  at  first  be  imagined  that  such  a 
strange  token  of  regard  as  this  could  be  intend- 
ed only  as  a  jest  and  an  insult ;  but  there  is  no 
doubt  that  Darius  meant  it  seriously  as  a  com- 
pliment and  an  honor.  He  supposed  that  Dem- 
ocedes,  of  course,  considered  his  condition  of 
captivity  as  a  fixed  and  permanent  one;  and 
that  his  fetters  were  not,  in  themselves,  an  in- 
justice or  disgrace,  but  the  necessary  and  una- 
voidable concomitant  of  his  lot,  so  that  the 
sending  of  golden  fetters  to  a  slave  was  very 
naturally,  in  his  view,  like  presenting  a  golden 
crutch  to  a  cripple.  Democedes  received  the 
equivocal  donation  with  great  good  nature.  He 
even  ventured  upon  a  joke  on  the  subject  to  the 
convalescent  king.  "  It  seems,  sire,"  said  he, 
"  that  in  return  for  my  saving  your  limb  and 
your  life,  you  double  my  servitude.  You  have 
given  me  two  chains  instead  of  one." 
.  The  king,  who  was  now  in  a  much  better 
humor  to  be  pleased  than  when,  writhing  in  an- 


132  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  519. 

Democedes  released.  Honors  conferred  on  him. 

guish,  he  had  ordered  Democedes  to  be  put  to 
the  torture,  laughed  at  this  reply,  and  released 
the  captive  from  the  bonds  entirely.  He  or- 
dered him  to  be  conducted  by  the  attendants  to 
the  apartments  of  the  palace,  where  the  wives 
of  Darius  and  the  other  ladies  of  the  court  re- 
sided, that  they  might  see  him  and  express  their 
gratitude.  "  This  is  the  physician,"  said  the 
eunuchs,  who  introduced  him,  "  that  cured  the 
king."  The  ladies  welcomed  him  with  the  ut- 
most cordiality,  and  loaded  him  with  presents 
of  gold  and  silver  as  he  passed  through  their 
apartments.  The  king  made  arrangements, 
too,  immediately,  for  providing  him  with  a  mag- 
nificent house  in  Susa,  and  established  him 
there  in  great  luxury  and  splendor,  with  costly 
furniture  and  many  attendants,  and  all  other 
marks  of  distinction  and  honor.  In  a  word, 
Democedes  found  himself,  by  means  of  another 
unexpected  change  of  fortune,  suddenly  elevated 
to  a  height  as  lofty  as  his  misery  and  degrada- 
tion had  been  low.  He  was,  however,  a  captive 
still. 

The  Queen  Atossa,  the  daughter  of  Cyrus, 
who  has  already  been  mentioned  as  the  wife  of 
Cambyses  and  of  Smerdis  the  magian,  was  one 
of  the  wives  of  Darius.     Her  sister  Antystone 


B.C. 519.1  G-reece  Reconnoitered.     133 

Atossa  cured  by  Democedes.  His  conditions. 

was  another.  A  third  was  Phsedyma,  the 
daughter  of  Otanes,  the  lady  who  had  heen  so 
instrumental,  in  connection  with  Atossa,  in  the 
discovery  of  the  magian  imposture.  It  hap- 
pened that,  some  time  after  the  curing  of  Da- 
rius's  sprain,  Atossa  herself  was  sick.  Her 
malady  was  of  such  a  nature,  that  for  some 
time  she  kept  it  concealed,  from  a  feeling  of  del- 
icacy.* At  length,  terrified  by  the  danger 
which  threatened  her,  she  sent  for  Democedes, 
and  made  her  case  known  to  him.  He  said 
that  he  could  cure  her,  but  she  must  first  prom- 
ise to  grant  him,  if  he  did  so,  a  certain  favor 
which  he  should  ask.  She  must  promise  "be- 
forehand to  grant  it,  whatever  it  might  be.  It 
was  nothing,  he  said,  that  should  in  any  way 
compromise  her  honor. 

Atossa  agreed  to  these  conditions,  and  Demo- 
cedes undertook  her  case.  Her  malady  was 
soon  cured  ;  and  when  she  asked  him  what  was 
the  favor  which  he  wished  to  demand,  he  replied, 

"  Persuade  Darius  to  form  a  plan  for  the  in- 
vasion of  Greece,  and  to  send  me,  with  a  small 
company  of  attendants,  to  explore  the  country, 

*  It  was  a  tumor  of  the  breast,  which  became,  at  length, 
an  open  ulcer,  and  began  to  spread  and  enlarge  in  a  very 
formidable  manner. 


134  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 519. 

Atossa  with  Darius.  She  suggests  the  invasion  of  Greece. 

and  obtain  for  hirn  all  the  necessary  preliminary- 
information.  In  this  way  I  shall  see  my  native 
land  once  more." 

Atossa  was  faithful  in  her  promise.  She 
availed  herself  of  the  first  favorable  opportunity, 
when  it  became  her  turn  to  visit  the  king,  to 
direct  his  mind,  by  a  dexterous  conversation,  to- 
ward the  subject  of  the  enlargement  of  his  em- 
pire. He  had  vast  forces  and  resources,  she 
said,  at  his  command,  and  might  easily  enter 
upon  a  career  of  conquest  which  would  attract 
the  admiration  of  the  world.  Darius  replied 
that  he  had  been  entertaining  some  views  of 
that  nature.  He  had  thought,  he  said,  of  at- 
tacking the  Scythians  :  these  Scythians  were 
a  group  of  semi-savage  nations  on.  the  north  of 
his  dominions.  Atossa  represented  to  him  that 
subduing  the  Scythians  would  be  too  easy  a 
conquest,  and  that  it  would  be  a  far  nobler  en- 
terprise, and  more  worthy  of  his  talents  and 
his  vast  resources,  to  undertake  an  expedition 
into  Europe,  and  attempt  the  conquest  of 
Greece.  You  have  all  the  means  at  your  com- 
mand essential  for  the  success  of  such  an  under- 
taking, and  you  have  in  your  court  a  man  who 
can  give  you,  or  can  obtain  for  you,  all  the 
necessary  information  in  respect  to  the  country, 


B.C. 519.]  G-reece  Reconnoitered.  135 

The  exploring  party.  Democedes  appointed  guide. 

to  enable  you  to  form  the  plan  of  your  cam- 
paigns. 

The  ambition  of  Darius  was  fired  by  these 
suggestions.  He  began  immediately  to  form 
projects  and  schemes.  In  a  day  or  two  he  or- 
ganized a  small  party  of  Persian  officers  of  dis- 
tinction, in  whom  he  had  great  confidence,  to 
go  on  an  exploring  tour  into  Greece.  They 
were  provided  with  a  suitable  company  of  at- 
tendants, and  with  every  thing .  necessary  for 
their  journey,  and  Democedes  was  directed  to 
prepare  to  go  with  them  as  their  guide.  They 
were  to  travel  simply  as  a  party  of  Persian  no- 
blemen, on  an  excursion  of  curiosity  and  pleas- 
ure, concealing  their  true  design ;  and  as  Dem- 
ocedes their  guide,  though  born  in  Italy,  was 
in  all  important  points  a  Greek,  and  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  countries  through  which 
they  were  to  pass,  they  supposed  that  they  could 
travel  every  where  without  suspicion.  Darius 
charged  the  Persians  to  keep  a  diligent  watch 
over  Democedes,  and  not  to  allow  him,  on  any 
account  to  leave  them,  but  to  bring  him  back 
to  Susa  safely  with  them  on  their  return. 

As  for  Democedes,  he  had  no  intention  what- 
ever of  returning  to  Persia,  though  he  kept  his 
designs  of  making  his  escape  entirely  concealed. 


136  Darius    the   Great.  [B.C.519. 

Designs  of  Democedes.  Darius  baffled. 

Darius,  with  seeming  generosity,  said  to  him, 
while  he  was  making  his  preparations,  "  I  rec- 
ommend to  you  to  take  with  you  all  your  pri- 
vate wealth  and  treasures,  to  distribute,  for 
presents,  among  your  friends  in  Greece  and 
Italy.  I  will  bestow  more  upon  you  here  on 
your  return."  Democedes  regarded  this  coun- 
sel with  great  suspicion.  He  imagined  that 
the  king,  in  giving  him  this  permission,  wished 
to  ascertain,  by  observing  whether  he  would 
really  take  with  him  all  his  possessions,  the  ex- 
istence of  any  secret  determination  in  his  mind 
not  to  come  back  to  Susa.  If  this  were  Da- 
rius's  plan,  it  was  defeated  by  the  sagacious 
vigilance  and  cunning  of  the  physician.  He 
told  the  king,  in  reply,  that  he  preferred  to  leave 
his  effects  in  Persia,  that  they  might  be  ready 
for  his  use  on  his  return.  The  king  then  or- 
dered a  variety  of  costly  articles  to  be  provided 
and  given  to  Democedes,  to  be  taken  with  him 
and  presented  to  his  friends  in  Greece  and  Italy. 
They  consisted  of  vessels  of  gold  and  silver, 
pieces  of  Persian  armor  of  beautiful  workman- 
ship, and  articles  of  dress,  expensive  and  splen- 
did. These  were  all  carefully  packed,  and  the 
various  other  necessary  preparations  were  made 
for  the  long  journey. 


B.C.  519.]  G-reece  Reconnoitered.  137 

The  expedition  sets  out.  City  of  Sidon. 

At  length  the  expedition  set  out.  They 
traveled  by  land  westward,  across  the  conti- 
nent, till  they  reached  the  eastern  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  The  port  at  which  they 
arrived  was  Sidon,  the  city  so  often  mentioned 
in  the  Scriptures  as  a  great  pagan  emporium 
of  commerce.  The  city  of  Sidon  was  in  the 
height  of  its  glory  at  this  time,  being  one  of  the 
most  important  ports  of  the  Mediterranean  for 
all -the  western  part  of  Asia.  Caravans  of  trav- 
elers came  to  it  by  land,  bringing  on  the  backs 
of  camels  the  productions  of  Arabia,  Persia,  and 
all  the  East ;  and  fleets  of  ships  by  sea,  loaded 
with  the  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil  of  the  Western 
nations. 

At  Sidon  the  land  journey  of  the  expedition 
was  ended.  Here  they  bought  two  large  and 
splendid  ships,  galleys  of  three  banks  of  oars, 
to  convey  them  to  Greece.  These  galleys  were 
for  their  own  personal  accommodation.  There 
was  a  third  vessel,  called  a  transport,  for  the 
conveyance  of  their  baggage,  which  consisted 
mainly  of  the  packages  of  rich  and  costly  pres- 
ents which  Darius  had  prepared.  Some  of  theso 
presents  were  for  the  friends  of  Democedes,  as 
has  been  already  explained,  and  others  had  been 
provided  as  gifts  and  offerings  from  the  king 


138  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.519. 

The  sea  voyage.  The  Grecian  coasts  examined. 

himself  to  such  distinguished  personages  as  the 
travelers  mi<?ht  visit  on  their  route.  When 
the  vessels  were  ready,  and  the  costly  cargo 
was  on  board,  the  company  of  travelers  em- 
barked, and  the  little  fleet  put  to  sea. 

The  Grecian  territories  are  endlessly  divided 
and  indented  by  the  seas,  whose  irregular  and 
winding  shores  form  promontories,  peninsulas, 
and  islands  without  number,  which  are  access- 
ible in  every  part  by  water.  The  Persian  ex- 
plorers cruised  about  among  these  coasts  under 
Democedes's  guidance,  examining  every  thing, 
and  noting  carefully  all  the  information  which 
they  could  obtain,  either  by  personal  observa- 
tion or  by  inquiring  of  others,  which  might  be 
of  service  to  Darius  in  his  intended  invasion. 
Democedes  allowed  them  to  take  their  own 
time,  directing  their  course,  however,  steadily, 
though  slowly,  toward  his  own  native  town  of 
Crotona.  The  expedition  landed  in  various 
places,  and  were  every  where  well  received. 
It  was  not  for  the  interest  of  Democedes  that 
they  should  yet  be  intercepted.  In  fact,  the 
name  and  power  of  Darius  were  very  much 
feared,  or,  at  least,  very  highly  respected  in  all 
the  Grecian  territory,  and  the  people  were  little 
inclined  to  molest  a  peaceful  party  of  Persians 


B.C. 518.]  G-reece  Reconnoitered.  139 

Arrival  at  Tarentum.  Suspicions  of  the  authorities. 

traveling  like  ordinary  tourists,  and  under  the 
guidance,  too,  of  a  distinguished  countryman  of 
their  own,  whose  name  was,  in  some  degree,  a 
guarantee  for  the  honesty  and  innocence  of  their 
intentions.  At  length,  however,  after  spending 
some  time  in  the  Grecian  seas,  the  little  squad- 
ron moved  still  farther  west,  toward  the  coast 
of  Italy,  and  arrived  finally  at  Tarentum.  Ta- 
rentum was  the  great  port  on  the  Grecian  side 
of  Italy.  It  was  at  the  head  of  the  spacious  hay 
which  sets  up  "between  the  heel  and  the  hall  of 
the  foot  of  the  hoot-shaped  peninsula.  Crotona, 
Democedes's  native  town,  to  which  he  was  now 
desirous  to  return,  was  southwest  of  Tarentum, 
about  two  hundred  miles  along  the  shore.* 

It  was  a  very  curious  and  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstance that,  though  the  expedition  had  been 
thus  far  allowed  to  go  and  come  as  its  leaders 
pleased,  without  any  hinderance  or  suspicion, 
yet  now,  the  moment  that  they  touched  a  point 
from  which  Democedes  could  easily  reach  his 
home,  the  authorities  on  shore,  in  some  way  or 
other,  obtained  some  intimation  of  the  true 
character  of  their  enterprise.  The  Prince  of 
Tarentum  seized  the  ships.     He  made  the  Per- 

*  For  the  situation  of  these  places,  see  the  map  at  the  com- 
mencement of  chapter  xi. 


140  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  518. 

The  Persians  seized.      Escape  of  Democedes.      Release  of  the  Persians. 

sians  themselves  prisoners  also,  and  shut  them 
up  ;  and,  in  order  effectually  to  confine  the  ships, 
he  took  away  the  helms  from  them,  so  that  they 
could  not  be  steered,  and  were  thus  entirely  dis- 
abled. The  expedition  being  thus,  for  the  time 
at  least,  broken  up,  Democedes  said,  coolly,  that 
he  would  take  the  opportunity  to  make  a  little 
excursion  along  the  coast,  and  visit  his  friends 
at  Crotona ! 

It  was  another  equally  suspicious  circum- 
stance in  respect  to  the  probability  that  this 
seizure  was  the  result  of  Democedes's  manage- 
ment, that,  as  soon  as  he  was  safely  away,  the 
Prince  of  Tarentum  set  his  prisoners  at  liberty, 
releasing,  at  the  same  time,  the  ships  from  the 
seizure,  and  sending  the  helms  on  board.  The 
Persians  were  indignant  at  the  treatment  which 
they  had  received,  and  set  sail  immediately 
along  the  coast  toward  Crotona  in  pursuit  of 
Democedes.  They  found  him  in  the  market- 
place in  Crotona,  haranguing  the  people,  and 
exciting,  by  his  appearance  and  his  discourse, 
a  great  and  general  curiosity.  They  attempted 
to  seize  him  as  a  fugitive,  and  called  upon  the 
people  of  Crotona  to  aid  them,  threatening  them 
with  the  vengeance  of  Darius  if  they  refused. 
A  part  of  the  people  were  disposed  to  comply 


B.C.  518.]  Greece  Reconnoiteiu;];.  141 

Tumult  at  Crotona.  Conduct  of  Democedes. 

with  this  demand,  while  others  rallied  to  defend 
their  townsman.  A  great  tumult  ensued  ;  but, 
in  the  end,  the  party  of  Democedes  was  victo- 
rious. He  was  not  only  thus  personally  rescued, 
but,  as  he  informed  the  people  that  the  trans- 
port vessel  which  accompanied  the  expedition 
contained  property  that  belonged  to  him,  they 
seized  that  too,  and  gave  it  up  to  Democedes, 
saying  to  the  Persians  that,  though  they  must 
give  up  the  transport,  the  galleys  remained  at 
their  service  to  convey  them  back  to  their  own 
country  whenever  they  wished  to  go. 

The  Persians  had  now  no  other  alternative 
but  to  return  home.  They  had,  it  is  true,  pretty 
nearly  accomplished  the  object  of  their  under- 
taking ;  but,  if  any  thing  remained  to  be  done, 
they  could  not  now  attempt  it  with  any  advant- 
age, as  they  had  lost  their  guide,  and  a  great 
portion  of  the  effects  which  had  been  provided 
by  Darius  to  enable  them  to  propitiate  the  fa- 
vor of  the  princes  and  potentates  into  whose 
power  they  might  fall.  They  accordingly  be- 
gan to  make  preparations  for  sailing  back  again 
to  Sidon,  while  Democedes  established  himself 
in  great  magnificence  and  splendor  in  Crotona. 
When,  at  length,  the  Persians  were  ready  to 
sail,  Democedes  wished  them  a  very  pleasant 


142           Darius 

the    Great. 

[B.C.  518. 

Tlu  expedition  returns. 

Misfortunes. 

Cillus. 

voyage,  and  desired  them  to  give  his  best  re- 
spects to  Darius,  and  inform  him  that  he  could 
not  return  at  present  to  Persia,  as  he  was 
making  arrangements  to  he  married ! 

The  disasters  which  had  befallen  these  Per- 
sian reconnoiterers  thus  far  were  only  the  be- 
ginning of  their  troubles.  Then  ships  were 
driven  by  contrary  winds  out  of  their  course, 
and  they  were  thrown  at  last  upon  the  coast 
of  Iapygia,  a  country  occupying  the  heel  of  It- 
aly. Here  they  were  seized  by  the  inhabitants 
and  made  slaves.  It  happened  that  there  was 
living  in  this  wild  country  at  that  time  a  man 
of  wealth  and  of  cultivation,  who  had  been  ex- 
iled from  Tarentum  on  account  of  some  political 
offenses.  His  name  was  Cillus.  He  heard  the 
story  of  these  unhappy  foreigners,  and  interested 
himself  in  their  fate.  He  thought  that,  by  rescu- 
ing them  from  their  captivity  and  sending  them 
home,  he  should  make  Darius  his  friend,  and 
secure,  perhaps,  his  aid  in  effecting  his  own 
restoration  to  his  native  land.  He  accordingly 
paid  the  ransom  which  was  demanded  for  the 
captives,  and  set  them  free.  He  then  aided 
them  in  making  arrangements  for  their  return 
to  Persia,  and  the  unfortunate  messengers  found 
their  way  back  at  last  to  the  court  of  Darius, 


B.C. 518.]  G-re'ece  Reconnoiteued.  143 

Arrival  at  Susa.  Reception  by  Darius. 

without  their  guide,  without  any  of  the  splendid 
appointments  with  which  they  had  gone  forth, 
but  stripped  of  every  thing,  and  glad  to  escape 
with  their  lives. 

They  had  some  cause  to  fear,  too,  the  anger 
of  Darius,  for  the  insensate  wrath  of  a  tyrant 
is  awakened  as  often  by  calamity  as  by  crime. 
Darius,  however,  was  in  this  instance  graciously 
disposed.  He  received  the  unfortunate  com- 
missioners in  a  favorable  manner.  He  took 
immediate  measures  for  rewarding  Cillus  for 
having  ransomed  them.  He  treasured  up,  too, 
the  information  which  they  had  obtained  re- 
specting Greece,  though  he  was  prevented  by 
circumstances,  which  we  will  proceed  to  de- 
scribe, from  immediately  putting  into  execution 
his  plans  of  invasion  and  conquest  there. 


144  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.5KJ. 

City  of  Babylon.  The  captive  Jews. 


Chapter  VII. 
The  Revolt  of  Babylon. 

I^HE  city  of  Babylon,  originally  the  capital 
-  of  the  Assyrian  empire,  was  conquered  by 
Cyrus,  the  founder  of  the  Persian  monarchy, 
when  he  annexed  the  Assyrian  empire  to  his 
dominions.  It  was  a  vast  and  a  very  magnifi- 
cent and  wealthy  city  ;  and  Cyrus  made  it,  for 
a  time,  one  of  his  capitals. 

"When  Cyrus  made  this  conquest  of  Babylon, 
he  found  the  Jews  in  captivity  there.  They 
had  been  made  captive  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  a 
previous  king  of  Babylon,  as  is  related  in  the 
Scriptures.  The  holy  prophets  of  Judea  had 
predicted  that  after  seventy  years  the  captives 
should  return,  and  that  Babylon  itself  should 
afterward  be  destroyed.  The  first  prediction 
was  fulfilled  by  the  victory  of  Cyrus.  It  de- 
volved on  Darius  to  execute  the  second  of  these 
solemn  and  retributive  decrees  of  heaven. 

Although  Darius  was  thus  the  instrument 
of  divine  Providence  in  the  destruction  of  Bab- 
ylon, he  was  unintentionally  and  unconsciously 
so.     In  the  terrible  scenes  connected  with  the 


B.C.  516.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  145 

"Wickedness  of  the  Babylonians.  Causes  of  discontent. 

siege  and  the  storming  of  the  ill-fated  city,  it 
was  the  impulse  of  his  own  hatred  and  revenge 
that  he  was  directly  obeying ;  he  was  not  at  all 
aware  that  he  was,  at  the  same  time,  the  mes- 
senger of  the  divine  displeasure.  The  wretched 
Babylonians,  in  the  storming  and  destruction  of 
their  city,  were  expiating  a  double  criminality. 
Their  pride,  their  wickedness,  their  wanton  cru- 
elty toward  the  Jews,  had  brought  upon  them 
the  condemnation  of  God,  while  their  political 
treason  and  rebellion,  or,  at  least,  what  was  con- 
sidered treason  and  rebellion  aroused  the  im- 
placable resentment  of  their  king. 

The  Babylonians  had  been  disposed  to  revolt 
even  in  the  days  of  Cyrus.  They  had  been  ac- 
customed to  consider  their  city  as  the  most 
noble  and  magnificent  capital  in  the  world, 
and  they  were  displeased  that  Cyrus  did  not 
make  it  the  seat  and  center  of  his  empire.  Cy- 
rus preferred  Susa ;  and  Babylon,  accordingly, 
though  he  called  it  one  of  his  capitals,  soon  fell 
to  the  rank  of  a  provincial  city.  The  nobles 
and  provincial  leaders  that  remained  there  be- 
gan accordingly  to  form  plans  for  revolting  from 
the  Persian  dominion,  with  a  view  of  restoring 
their  city  to  its  ancient  position  and  renown. 

They  had  a  very  favorable  opportunity  for 
K 


146  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C. 516. 

Preparations  of  the  Babylonians  for  revolt.  Their  secrecy. 

maturing  their  plans,  and  making  their  prepa- 
rations for  the  execution  of  them  during  the 
time  of  the  magian  usurpation ;  for  while  the 
false  Smerdis  was  on  the  throne,  heing  shut  up 
and  concealed  in  Ins  palace  at  Susa,  the  affairs 
of  the  provinces  were  neglected  ;  and  when  Da- 
rius and  his  accomplices  discovered  the  impos- 
ture and  put  Smerdis  to  death,  there  was  nec- 
essarily required,  after  so  violent  a  revolution, 
a  considerable  time  before  the  affairs  of  the  em- 
pire demanding  attention  at  the  capital  could 
be  settled,  so  as  to  allow  the  government  to  turn 
their  thoughts  at  all  toward  the  distant  depend- 
encies. The  Babylonians  availed  themselves 
of  all  these  opportunities  to  put  their  city  in 
the  best  condition  for  resisting  the  Persian 
power.  They  strengthened  their  defenses,  and 
accumulated  great  stores  of  provisions,  and  took 
measures  for  diminishing  that  part  of  the  pop- 
ulation which  would  be  useless  in  war.  These 
measures  were  all  concerted  and  carried  into 
effect  in  the  most  covert  and  secret  manner ; 
and  the  tidings  came  at  last  to  Susa  that  Bab- 
ylon had  openly  revolted,  before  the  government 
of  Darius  was  aware  even  of  the  existence  of 
any  disaffection. 

The  time  which  the  Babylonians  chose  for 


B.C.  516.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  147 

Time  chosen  for  revolt.  Story  of  Syloson. 

their  rebellion  at  last  was  one  when  the  mova- 
ble forces  which  Darius  had  at  command  were 
at  the  west,  engaged  in  a  campaign  on  the 
shores  of  Asia  Minor.  Darius  had  sent  them 
there  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  a  certain  ex- 
ile and  wanderer  named  Syloson  to  Samos,  and 
making  him  the  monarch  of  it.  Darius  had 
been  induced  thus  to  interpose  in  Syloson's  be- 
half by  the  following  very  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstances. 

Syloson  was  the  brother  of  Poly  crates,  whose 
unhappy  history  has  already  been  given.  He 
was  exiled  from  Samos  some  time  before  Da- 
rius ascended  the  tln*one,  and  he  became,  con- 
sequently, a  sort  of  soldier  of  fortune,  serving, 
like  other  such  adventurers,  wherever  there  was 
the  greatest  prospect  of  glory  and  pay.  In  this 
capacity  he  followed  the  army  of  Cambyses  into 
Egypt  in  the  memorable  campaign  described 
in  the  first  chapter  of  this  volume.  It  happen- 
ed, also,  that  Darius  himself,  who  was  then  a 
young  noble  in  the  Persian  court,  and  yet  of 
no  particular  distinction,  as  there  was  then  no 
reason  to  imagine  that  he  would  ever  be  ele- 
vated to  the  throne,  was  also  in  Cambyses's 
army,  and  the  two  young  men  became  acquaint- 
ed with  one  another  there. 


148  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  516. 

Syloson's  red  cloak  He  gives  it  to  Darius. 

"While  the  army  was  at  Memphis,  an  inci- 
dent occurred  in  which  these  two  personages 
were  actors,  which,  though  it  seemed  unim- 
portant at  the  time,  led,  in  the  end,  to  vast  and 
momentous  results.     The  incident  was  this : 

Syloson  had  a  very  handsome  red  cloak, 
which,  as  he  appeared  in  it  one  day,  walking 
in  the  great  square  at  Memphis,  strongly  at- 
tracted the  admiration  of  Darius.  Darius  asked 
Syloson  if  he  would  sell  him  the  cloak.  Syloson 
said  that  he  would  not  sell  it,  but  would  give  it 
to  him.  He  thought,  probably,  that  Darius 
would  decline  receiving  it  as  a  present.  If  he 
did  entertain  that  idea,  it  seems  he  was  mis- 
taken. Darius  praised  him  for  his  generosity, 
and  accepted  the  gift. 

Syloson  was  then  sorry  that  he  had  made  so 
inconsiderate  an  offer,  and  regretted  very  much 
the  loss  of  his  cloak.  In  process  of  time,  the 
campaign  of  Cambyses  in  Egypt  was  ended, 
and  Darius  returned  to  Persia,  leaving  Syloson 
in  the  west.  At  length  the  conspiracy  was 
formed  for  dethroning  Smerdis  the  magian,  as 
has  already  been  described,  and  Darius  was 
designated  to  reign  in  his  stead.  As  the  news 
of  the  young  noble's  elevation  spread  into  the 
western  world,   it  reached   Syloson.     He  was 


B.C. 516.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  149 

Syloson  goes  to  Susa.  Interview  with  Darius. 

much  pleased  at  receiving  the  intelligence,  and 
he  saw  immediately  that  there  v^as  a  prospect 
of  his  being  able  to  derive  some  advantage,  him- 
self, from  the  accession  of  his  old  fellow-soldier 
to  the  throne. 

He  immediately  proceeded  to  Susa.  He  ap- 
plied at  the  gates  of  the  palace  for  admission 
to  the  presence  of  the  king.  The  porter  asked 
him  who  he  was.  He  replied  that  he  was  a 
Greek  who  had  formerly  done  Darius  a  service, 
and  he  wished  to  see  him.  The  porter  carried 
the  message  to  the  king.  The  king  could  not 
imagine  who  the  stranger  should  be.  He  en- 
deavored in  vain  to  recall  to  mind  any  instance 
in  which  he  had  received  a  favor  from  a  Greek. 
At  length  he  ordered  the  attendant  to  call  the 
visitor  in. 

Syloson  was  accordingly  conducted  into  the 
king's  presence.  Darius  looked  upon  him,  but 
did  not  know  him.  He  directed  the  interpret- 
ers to  inquire  what  the  service  was  which  he 
had  rendered  the  king,  and  when  he  had  ren- 
dered it.  The  Greek  replied  by  relating  the 
circumstance  of  the  cloak.  Darius  recollected 
the  cloak,  though  he  had  forgotten  the  giver. 
"Are  you,  indeed,"  said  he,  "  the  man  who 
made  me  that  present?     I  thought  then  that 


150  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.  516. 

Request  of  Syloson.  Darius  grants  it. 

you  were  very  generous  to  me,  and  you  shall 
see  that  I  do  npt  undervalue  the  ohligation  now. 
I  am  at  length,  fortunately,  in  a  situation  to 
requite  the  favor,  and  I  will  give  you  such  an 
abundance  of  gold  and  silver  as  shall  effectually 
prevent  your  being  sorry  for  having  shown  a 
kindness  to  Darius  Hystaspes." 

Syloson  thanked  the  king  in  reply,  but  said 
that  he  did  not  wish  for  gold  and  silver.  Da- 
rius asked  him  what  reward  he  did  desire.  He 
replied  that  he  wished  Samos  to  be  restored  to 
him  :  "  Samos,"  said  he,  "  was  the  possession  of 
my  brother.  When  he  went  away  from  the 
island,  he  left  it  temporarily  in  the  hands  of 
MsBandrius,  an  officer  of  his  household.  It  still 
remains  in  the  possession  of  this  family,  while 
I,  the  rightful  heir,  am  a  homeless  wanderer  and 
exile,  excluded  from  my  brother's  dominions  by 
one  of  his  slaves." 

Darius  immediately  determined  to  accede  to 
Syloson's  request.  He  raised  an  army  and  put 
it  under  the  command  of  Otanes,  who,  it  will 
be  recollected,  was  one  of  the  seven  conspira- 
tors that  combined  to  dethrone  Smerdis  the 
magian.  He  directed  Otanes  to  accompany 
Syloson  to  Samos,  and  to  put  him  in  possession 
of  the  island.     Syloson  was  particularly  earnest 


B.C.  516.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  151 

Citadel  of  Samos.  Measures  of  Maeandrius. 

in  his  request  that  no  unnecessary  violence 
should  be  used,  and  no  blood  shed,  or  vindictive 
measures  of  any  kind  adopted.  Darius  prom- 
ised to  comply  with  these  desires,  and  gave  his 
orders  to  Otanes  accordingly. 

Notwithstanding  this,  however,  the  expedi- 
tion resulted  in  the  almost  total  destruction  of 
the  Samian  population,  in  the  following  manner. 
There  was  a  citadel  at  Samos,  to  winch  the  in- 
habitants retired  when  they  learned  that  Otanes 
had  embarked  his  troops  in  ships  on  the  coast, 
and  was  advancing  toward  the  island.  Maean- 
drius was  vexed  and  angry  at  the  prospect  of 
being  deprived  of  his  possessions  and  his  power  ; 
and,  as  the  people  hated  him  on  account  of  his 
extortion  and  tyranny,  he  hated  them  hi  return, 
and  cared  not  how  much  suffering  his  measures 
might  be  the  means  of  bringing  upon  them. 
He  had  a  subterranean  and  secret  passage  from 
the  citadel  to  the  shore  of  the  sea,  where,  in  a 
secluded  cove,  were  boats  or  vessels  ready  to 
take  him  away.  Having  made  these  arrange- 
ments to  secure  his  own  safety,  he  proceeded  to 
take  such  a  course  and  adopt  such  measures 
as  should  tend  most  effectually  to  exasperate 
and  offend  the  Persians,  intending  to  escape, 
himself,  at  the  last  moment,  by  this  subterra- 


152  Darius  the   (treat.   [B.C.  516. 

Hypocrisy  of  Maeandrius.  His  brother  Charilaus. 

nean  retreat,  and  to  leave  the  inhabitants  of 
the  island  at  the  mercy  of  their  infuriated  ene- 
mies. 

He  had  a  brother  whom  he  had  shut  up  in  a 
dungeon,  and  whose  mind,  naturally  depraved, 
and  irritated  by  his  injuries,  was  in  a  state  of 
malignant  and  furious  despair.  Mseandrius 
had  pretended  to  be  willing  to  give  up  the  island 
to  the  Persians.  He  had  entered  into  negotia- 
tions with  them  for  this  purpose,  and  the  Per- 
sians considered  the  treaty  as  in  fact  concluded. 
The  leaders  and  officers  of  the  army  had  as- 
sembled, accordingly,  before  the  citadel  in  a 
peaceful  attitude,  waiting  merely  for  the  com- 
pletion of  the  forms  of  surrender,  when  Cha- 
rilaus, Mseandrius's  captive  brother,  saw  them, 
by  looking  out  between  the  bars  of  his  window, 
in  the  tower  in  which  he  was  confined.  He 
sent  an  urgent  message  to  Maeandrius,  request- 
ing to  speak  to  him.  Maeandrius  ordered  the 
prisoner  to  be  brought  before  him.  The  hag- 
gard and  wretched-looking  captive,  rendered 
half  insane  by  the  combined  influence  of  the 
confinement  he  had  endured,  and  of  the  wild 
excitement  produced  by  the  universal  panic  and 
confusion  which  reigned  around  him,  broke  forth 
asrainst  his   brother  in  the  boldest  and  most 


B.C. 516.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  153 

Reproaches  of  Charilaus.  Character  of  Maeandrius. 

violent  invectives.  He  reproached  him  in  the 
most  bitter  terms  for  being  willing  to  yield  so 
ingloriously,  and  without  a  struggle,  to  an  in- 
vading foe,  whom  he  might  easily  repel.  "  You 
have  courage  and  energy  enough,  it  seems,"  said 
he,  "  to  make  war  upon  an  innocent  and  defense- 
less brother,  and  to  keep  him  for  years  in  chains 
and  in  a  dungeon,  but  when  an  actual  enemy 
appears,  though  he  comes  to  despoil  you  of  all 
your  possessions,  and  to  send  you  into  hopeless 
exile,  and  though,  if  you  had  the  ordinary  cour- 
age and  spirit  of  a  man,  you  could  easily  drive 
him  away,  yet  you  dare  not  face  him.  If  you 
are  too  cowardly  and  mean  to  do  your  duty 
yourself,  give  me  your  soldiers,  and  I  will  do  it 
for  you.  I  will  drive  these  Persians  back  into 
the  sea  with  as  much  pleasure  as  it  would  give 
me  to  drive  you  there  !" 

Such  a  nature  as  that  of  Maeandrius  can  not 
be  stung  into  a  proper  sense  of  duty  by  re- 
proaches like  these.  There  seem  to  have  been 
in  his  heart  no  moral  sensibilities  of  any  kind, 
and  there  could  be,  of  course,  no  compunctions 
for  the  past,  and  no  awakening  of  new  and 
better  desires  for  the  future.  All  the  effect 
which  was  produced  upon  his  mind  by  these 
bitter  denunciations  was  to  convince  him  that 


154  Darius   the    Great.    [B.C.  516. 

Attack  of  Charilaus.  Slaughter  of  the  Samians. 

to  comply  with  his  brother's  request  would  be 
to  do  the  best  thing  now  in  his  power  for  widen- 
ing, and  extending,  and  making  sure  the  misery 
and  mischief  which  were  impending.  He  placed 
his  troops,  therefore,  under  his  brother's  orders ; 
and  while  the  infuriated  madman  sallied  forth 
at  the  head  of  them  to  attack  the  astonished 
Persians  on  one  side  of- the  citadel,  Maeandrius 
made  his  escape  through  the  under-ground  pas- 
sage on  the  other.  The  Persians  were  so  ex- 
asperated at  what  appeared  to  them  the  basest 
treachery,  that,  as  soon  as  they  could  recover 
their  arms  and  get  once  more  into  battle  array, 
they  commenced  a  universal  slaughter  of  the 
Samians.  They  spared  neither  age,  sex,  nor 
condition ;  and  when,  at  last,  their  vengeance 
was  satisfied,  and  they  put  the  island  into  Sy- 
loson's  hands,  and  withdrew,  he  found  himself 
in  possession  of  an  almost  absolute  solitude. 

It  was  while  Otanes  was  absent  on  this  en- 
terprise, having  with  him  a  large  part  of  the 
disposable  forces  of  the  king,  that  the  Babylo- 
nians revolted.  Darius  was  greatly  incensed 
at  hearing  the  tidings.  Sovereigns  are  always 
greatly  incensed  at  a  revolt  on  the  part  of  their 
subjects.  The  circumstances  of  the  case,  what- 
ever they  may  be,  always  seem  to  them  to  con- 


B.C.516.]The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  157 

Revolt  of  Babylon.  Insults  and  jeers  of  the  Babylonians. 

stitute  a  peculiar  aggravation  of  the  offense. 
Darius  was  indignant  that  the  Babylonians  had 
attempted  to  take  advantage  of  his  weakness, 
by  rebelling  when  his  armies  were  away.  If 
they  had  risen  when  his  armies  were  around 
him,  he  would  have  been  equally  indignant  with 
them  for  having  dared  to  brave  his  power. 

He  assembled  all  the  forces  at  his  disposal, 
and  advanced  to  Babylon.  The  people  of  the 
city  shut  their  gates  against  him,  and  derided 
him.  They  danced  and  capered  on  the  walls, 
making  all  sorts  of  gestures  expressive  of  con- 
tempt and  defiance,  accompanied  with  shouts 
and  outcries  of  ridicule  and  scorn.  They  had 
great  confidence  in  the  strength  of  their  de- 
fenses, and  then,  besides  this,  they  probably  re- 
garded Darius  as  a  sort  of  usurper,  who  had  no 
legitimate  title  to  the  throne,  and  who  would 
never  be  able  to  subdue  any  serious  resistance 
which  might  be  offered  to  the  establishment  of 
his  power.  It  was  from  these  considerations 
that  they  were  emboldened  to  be  guilty  of  the 
folly  of  taunting  and  insulting  their  foes  from 
the  city  walls. 

Such  incidents  as  this,  of  personal  commu- 
nications between  masses  of  enemies  on  the 
eve  of  a  battle,  were  very  common  in  ancient 


158  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.  516. 

Ancient  mode  of  warfare.  Modern  warfare. 

warfare,  though  impossible  in  modern  times. 
In  those  days,  when  the  missiles  employed  wero 
thrown  chiefly  "by  the  strength  of  the  human 
arm  alone,  the  combatants  could  safely  draAV 
near  enough  together  for  each  side  to  hear  the 
voices  and  to  see  the  gesticulations  of  the  other. 
Besiegers  could  advance  sufficiently  close  to  a 
castle  or  citadel  to  parley  insultingly  with  the 
garrison  upon  the  walls,  and  yet  he  safe  from 
the  showers  of  darts  and  arrows  which  were 
projected  toward  them  in  return.  But  all  this 
is  now  changed.  The  reach  of  cannon,  and 
even  of  musketry,  is  so  long,  that  combatants, 
approaching  a  conflict,  are  kept  at  a  very  re- 
spectful distance  apart,  until  the  time  arrives 
in  which  the  actual  engagement  is  to  begin. 
They  reconnoiter  each  other  with  spy-glasses 
from  watch-towers  on  the  walls,  or  from  emi- 
nences in  the  field,  but  they  can  hold  no  com- 
munication except  by  a  formal  embassy,  pro- 
tected by  a  flag  of  truce,  which,  with  its  white 
and  distant  fluttering,  as  it  slowly  advances 
over  the  green  fields,  warns  the  gunners  at  the 
battery  or  on  the  bastion  to  point  their  artillery 
another  way. 

The  Babylonians,  on  the  walls  of  their  city, 
reproached  and  taunted  their  foes  incessantly. 


B.C. 514.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  159 

Taunt  of  the  Babylonians.  Fabricating  prodigies. 

"  Take  our  advice,"  said  they,  "  and  go  back 
■where  you  came  from.  You  will  only  lose  your 
time  in  besieging  Babylon.  "When  mules  have 
foals,  you  will  take  the  city,  and  not  till  then." 

The  expression  "  when  mules  have  foals" 
was  equivalent  in  those  days  to  our  proverbial 
phrase,  "when  the  sky  falls,"  being  used  to 
denote  any  thing  impossible  or  absurd,  inas- 
much as  mules,  like  other  hybrid  animals,  do 
not  produce  young.  It  was  thought  in  those 
times  absolutely  impossible  that  they  should  do 
so ;  but  it  is  now  well  known  that  the  case  is 
not  impossible,  though  very  rare. 

It  seems  to  have  added  very  much  to  the  in- 
terest of  an  historical  narrative  in  the  minds  of 
the  ancient  Greeks,  to  have  some  prodigy  con- 
nected with  every  great  event;  and,  in  order 
to  gratify  this  feeling,  the  writers  appear  in 
some  instances  to  have  fabricated  a  prodigy  for 
the  occasion,  and  in  others  to  have  elevated  some 
unusual,  though  by  no  means  supernatural  cir- 
cumstance, to  the  rank  and  importance  of  one. 
The  prodigy  connected  with  this  siege  of  Bab- 
ylon was  the  foaling  of  a  mule.  The  mule 
belonged  to  a  general  in  the  army  of  Darius, 
named  Zopyrus.  It  was  after  Darius  had  been 
prosecuting  the  siege  of  the  city  for  a  year  and 


160  Darius  the   Great.    [B.C. 514. 

The  mule  of  Zopyrus.  Interview  with  Darius. 

a  half,  without  any  progress  whatever  toward 
the  accomplishment  of  his  end.  The  army  be- 
gan to  despair  of  success.  Zopyrus,  with  the 
rest,  was  expecting  that  the  siege  would  he 
indefinitely  prolonged,  or,  perhaps,  absolutely 
abandoned,  when  his  attention  was  strongly  at- 
tracted to  the  phenomenon  which  had  happened 
in  respect  to  the  mule.  He  remembered  the 
taunt  of  the  Babylonian  on  the  wall,  and  it 
seemed  to  him  that  the  whole  occurrence  por- 
tended that  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  some 
way  might  be  devised  for  the  capture  of  the  city. 

Portents  and  prophecies  are  often  the  causes 
of  their  own  fulfillment,  and  this  portent  led 
Zopyrus  to  endeavor  to  devise  some  means  to 
accomplish  the  end  in  view.  He  went  first, 
however,  to  Darius,  to  converse  with  him  upon 
the  subject,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  how  far 
he  was  really  desirous  of  bringing  the  siege  to 
a  termination.  He  wished  to  know  whether 
the  object  was  of  sufficient  importance  in  Dari- 
us's  mind  to  warrant  any  great  sacrifice  on  his 
own  part  to  effect  it. 

He  found  that  it  was  so.  Darius  was  ex- 
tremely impatient  to  end  the  siege  and  to  cap- 
ture the  city ;  and  Zopyrus  saw  at  once  that, 
if  he  could  in  any  way  be  the  means  of  accom- 


B.C.  514.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  161 

Desperate  plan  of  Zopyrus.  He  mutilates  himself. 

plishing  the  work,  he  should  entitle  himself,  in 
the  highest  possible  degree,  to  the  gratitude  of 
the  king. 

He  determined  to  go  himself  into  Babylon  as 
a  pretended  deserter  from  Darius,  with  a  view 
to  obtaining  an  influence  and  a  command  within 
the  city,  which  should  enable  him  afterward  to 
deliver  it  up  to  the  besiegers ;  and,  in  order  to 
convince  the  Babylonians  that  his  desertion  was 
real,  he  resolved  to  mutilate  himself  in  a  man- 
ner so  dreadful  as  would  effectually  prevent 
their  imagining  that  the  injuries  which  he  suf- 
fered were  inflicted  by  any  contrivance  of  his 
own.  He  accordingly  cut  off  his  hair  and  his 
ears,  and  mutilated  his  face  in  a  manner  too 
shocking  to  be  here  detailed,  inflicting  injuries 
which  could  never  be  repaired.  He  caused 
himself  to  be  scourged,  also,  until  his  whole 
body  was  covered  with  cuts  and  contusions. 
He  then  went,  wounded  and  bleeding  as  he  was, 
into  the  presence  of  Darius,  to  make  known 
his  plans. 

Darius  expressed  amazement  and  consterna- 
tion at  the  terrible  spectacle.  He  leaped  from 
his  throne  and  rushed  toward  Zopyrus,  de- 
manding who  had  dared  to  maltreat  one  of  Ins 
generals  in  such  a  manner.     When  Zopyrus  re- 


162  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.514. 

Darius's  astonishment.  Final  arrangements. 

plied  that  he  had  himself  done  the  deed,  the 
king's  astonishment  was  greater  than  before. 
He  told  Zopyrus  that  he  was  insane.  Some 
sudden  paroxysm  of  madness  had  come  over 
him.  Zopyrus  replied  that  he  was  not  insane ; 
and  he  explained  his  design.  His  plan,  he  said, 
was  deliberately  and  calmly  formed,  and  it 
should  be  steadily  and  faithfully  executed.  "  I 
did  not  make  known  my  design  to  you,"  said 
he,  "  before  I  had  taken  the  preliminary  steps, 
for  I  knew  that  you  would  prevent  my  taking 
them.  It  is  now  too  late  for  that,  and  nothing 
remains  but  to  reap,  if  possible,  the  advantage 
which  may  be  derived  from  what  I  have  done." 
He  then  arranged  with  Darius  the  plans 
which  he  had  formed,  so  far  as  he  needed  the 
co-operation  of  the  king  in  the  execution  of 
them.  If  he  could  gain  a  partial  command  in 
the  Babylonian  army,  he  was  to  make  a  sally 
from  the  city  gates  on  a  certain  day,  and  at- 
tack a  portion  of  the  Persian  army,  which  Da- 
rius was  to  leave  purposely  exposed,  in  order 
that  he  might  gain  credit  with  the  Babyloni- 
ans by  destroying  them.  From  this  he  sup- 
posed that  the  confidence  which  the  Babyloni- 
ans would  repose  in  him  would  increase,  and 
he  might  consequently  receive  a  greater  com- 


B.C. 514.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  163 

Preliminary  arrangements.  Zopyrus  leaves  the  Persian  camp. 

mand.  Thus  he  might,  by  acting  in  concert 
with  Darius  without,  gradually  gain  such  an 
ascendency  within  the  city  as  finally  to  have 
power  to  open  the  gates  and  let  the  besiegers 
in.  Darius  was  to  station  a  detachment  of  a 
thousand  men  near  a  certain  gate,  leaving  them 
imperfectly  armed,  on  the  tenth  day  after  Zo- 
pyrus entered  the  city.  These  Zopyrus  was 
to  destroy.  Seven  days  afterward,  two  thou- 
sand more  were  to  be  stationed  in  a  similar 
manner  at  another  point ;  and  these  were  also 
to  be  destroyed  by  a  second  sally.  Twenty 
days  after  this,  four  thousand  more  were  to  be 
similarly  exposed.  Thus  seven  thousand  in- 
nocent and  defenseless  men  would  be  slaugh- 
tered, but  that,  as  Zopyrus  said,  would  be  "  of 
no  consequence."  The  lives  of  men  were  es- 
timated by  heroes  and  conquerors  in  those  days 
only  at  their  numerical  value  in  swelling  the 
army  roll. 

These  things  being  all  arranged,  Zopyrus 
took  leave  of  the  King  to  go  to  Babylon.  As 
he  left  the  Persian  camp,  he  began  to  run,  look- 
ing round  behind  him  continually,  as  if  in  flight. 
Some  men,  too,  pretended  to  pursue  him.  He 
fled  toward  one  of  the  gates  of  the  city.  The 
sentinels  on  the  walls  saw  him  coming.    When 


164  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 514. 

Success  of  Zopyrus's  stratagem.  His  piteous  story. 

he  reached  the  gate,  the  porter  inside  of  it  talked 
with  him  through  a  small  opening,  and  heard 
his  story.  The  porter  then  reported  the  case 
to  the  superior  officers,  and  they  commanded 
that  the  fugitive  should  be  admitted.  When 
conducted  into  the  presence  of  the  magistrates, 
he  related  a  piteous  story  of  the  cruel  treatment 
which  he  had  received  from  Darius,  and  of  the 
difficulty  which  he  had  experienced  in  making 
his  escape  from  the  tyrant's  hands.  He  ut- 
tered, too,  dreadful  imprecations  against  Da- 
rius, and  expressed  the  most  eager  determina- 
tion to  be  revenged.  He  informed  the  Babylo- 
nians, moreover,  that  he  was  well  acquainted 
with  all  Darius's  plans  and  designs,  and  with 
the  disposition  which  he  had  made  of  his  army ; 
and  that,  if  they  would,  in  a  few  days,  when  his 
wounds  should  have  in  some  measure  healed, 
give  him  a  small  command,  he  would  show 
them,  by  actual  trial,  what  he  could  do  to  aid 
their  cause. 

They  acceded  to  this  proposition,  and  fur- 
nished Zopyrus,  at  the  end  of  ten  days,  with  a 
moderate  force.  Zopyrus,  at  the  head  of  this 
force,  sallied  forth  from  the  gate  which  had 
been  previously  agreed  upon  between  him  and 
Darius,  and  fell  upon  the  unfortunate  thousand 


B.C. 514.]  The  Revolt  of  Babylon.  165 

The  three  victories.  Zopyrus  intrusted  with  power  in  Babylon. 

that  had  been  stationed  there  for  the  purpose 
of  being  destroyed.  They  were  nearly  defense- 
less, and  Zopyrus,  though  his  force  was  inferior, 
cut  them  all  to  pieces  before  they  could  be  re- 
enforced  or  protected,  and  then  retreated  safely 
into  the  city  again.  He  was  received  by  the 
Babylonians  with  the  utmost  exultation  and 
joy.  He  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining,  seven 
days. afterward,  the  command  of  a  larger  force, 
when,  sallying  forth  from  another  gate,  as  had 
been  agreed  upon  by  Darius,  he  gained  anoth- 
er victory,  destroying,  on  this  occasion,  twice 
as  many  Persians  as  before.  These  exploits 
gained  the  pretended  deserter  unbounded  fame 
and  honor  within  the  city.  The  populace  ap- 
plauded him  with  continual  acclamations ;  and 
the  magistrates  invited  him  to  their  councils, 
offered  him  high  command,  and  governed  their 
own  plans  and  measures  by  his  advice.  At 
length,  on  the  twentieth  day,  he  made  his  third 
sally,  at  which  time  he  destroyed  and  captured 
a  still  greater  number  than  before.  This  gave 
him  such  an  influence  and  position  within  the 
city,  in  respect  to  its  defense,  that  he  had  no 
difficulty  in  getting  intrusted  with  the  keys  of 
certain  gates — those,  namely,  by  which  he  had 
agreed  that  the  army  of  Darius  should  be  ad- 
mitted. 


166  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  514. 

Zopyrus  admits  the  Persians.  Fall  of  Babylon. 

When  the  time  arrived,  the  Persians  ad- 
vanced to  the  attack  of  the  city  in  that  quarter, 
and  the  Babylonians  rallied  as  usual  on  the 
walls  to  repel  them.  The  contest  had  scarcely 
begun  before  they  found  that  the  gates  were 
open,  and  that  the  columns  of  the  enemy  were 
pouring  in.  The  city  was  thus  soon  wholly  at 
the  mercy  of  the  conqueror.  Darius  dismantled 
the  walls,  carried  off  the  brazen  gates,  and  cru- 
cified three  thousand  of  the  most  distinguished 
inhabitants ;  then  establishing  over  the  rest  a 
government  of  his  own,  he  withdrew  his  troops 
and  returned  to  Susa.  He  bestowed  upon  Zo- 
pyrus, at  Susa,  all  possible  rewards  and  honors. 
The  marks  of  his  wounds  and  mutilations  could 
never  be  effaced,  but  Darius  often  said  that  he 
would  gladly  give  up  twenty  Babylons  to  be 
able  to  efface  them. 


B.C. 513.]  Invasion  of  Scythia.  167 

Darius's  authority  fully  established  throughout  his  dominions. 


Chapter   VIII. 

The    Invasion   of    Scythia. 

N  the  reigns  of  ancient  monarchs  and  con- 
querors,  it  often  happened  that  the  first 
great  transaction  which  called  forth  their  en- 
ergies was  the  suppression  of  a  rebellion  within 
their  dominions,  and  the  second,  an  expedition 
against  some  ferocious  and  half-savage  nations 
beyond  their  frontiers.  Darius  followed  this 
general  example.  The  suppression  of  the  Baby- 
lonian revolt  established  his  authority  through- 
out the  whole  interior  of  his  empire.  If  that 
vast,  and  populous,  and  wealthy  city  was  found 
unable  to  resist  his  power,  no  other  smaller 
province  or  capital  could  hope  to  succeed  in  the 
attempt.  The  whole  empire  of  Asia,  therefore, 
from  the  capital  at  Susa,  out  to  the  extreme 
limits  and  bounds  to  which  Cyrus  had  extended 
it,  yielded  without  any  further  opposition  to 
his  sway.  He  felt  strong  in  his  position,  and 
being  young  and  ardent  in  temperament,  he 
experienced  a  desire  to  exercise  his  strength. 
For  some  reason  or  other,  he  seems  to  have 


168  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C. 513. 

The  Scythians.  Ancient  account  of  them. 

been  not  quite  prepared  yet  to  grapple  with 
the  Greeks,  and  he  concluded,  accordingly,  first 
to  test  his  powers  in  respect  to  foreign  invasion 
by  a  war  upon  the  Scythians.  This  was  an 
undertaking  which  required  some  courage  and 
resolution;  for  it  was  while  making  an  incur- 
sion into  the  country  of  the  Scythians  that  Cy- 
rus, his  renowned  predecessor,  and  the  founder 
of  the  Persian  empire,  had  fallen. 

The  term  Scythians  seems  to  have  been  a 
generic  designation,  applied  indiscriminately  to 
vast  hordes  of  half-savage  tribes  occupying  those 
wild  and  inhospitable  regions  of  the  north,  that 
extended  along  the  shores  of  the  Black  and 
Caspian  Seas,  and  the  banks  of  the  Danube. 
The  accounts  which  are  given  by  the  ancient 
historians  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  these 
people,  are  very  inconsistent  and  contradictory ; 
as,  in  fact,  the  •  accounts  of  the  characters  of 
savages,  and  of  the  habits  and  usages  of  sav- 
age life,  have  always  been  in  every  age.  It  is 
very  little  that  any  one  cultivated  observer  can 
really  know,  in  respect  to  the  phases  of  charac- 
ter, the  thoughts  and  feelings,  the  sentiments, 
the  principles  and  the  faith,  and  even  the  modes 
of  life,  that  prevail  among  uncivilized  aborigines 
living  in  forests,  or  roaming  wildly  over  unin- 


B.C.  513.]  Invasion  of  Scythia.         169 

Pictures  of  savage  life  Their  diversity. 

closed  and  trackless  plains.  Of  those  who  have 
the  opportunity  to  observe  them,  accordingly, 
some  extol,  in  the  highest  degree,  their  rude 
but  charming  simplicity,  their  truth  and  faith- 
fulness, the  strength  of  their  filial  and  conju- 
gal affection,  and  their  superiority  of  spirit  in 
rising  above  the  sordid  sentiments  and  gross 
vices  of  civilization.  They  are  not  the  slaves, 
these  writers  say,  of  appetite  and  passion.  They 
have  no  inordinate  love  of  gain ;  they  are  pa- 
tient in  enduring  suffering,  grateful  for  kind- 
ness received,  and  inflexibly  firm  in  their  ad- 
herence to  the  principles  of  honor  and  duty. 
Others,  on  the  other  hand,  see  in  savage  life 
nothing  but  treachery,  cruelty,  brutality,  and 
crime.  Man  in  his  native  state,  as  they  im- 
agine, is  but  a  beast,  with  just  intelligence 
enough  to  give  effect  to  his  depravity.  "With- 
out natural  affection,  without  truth,  without  a 
sense  of  justice,  or  the  means  of  making  law  a 
substitute  for  it,  he  lives  in  a  scene  of  continual 
conflict,  in  which  the  rights  of  the  weak  and 
the  defenseless  are  always  overborne  by  brutal 
and  tyrannical  power. 

The  explanation  of  this  diversity  is  doubtless 
this,  that  in  savage  life,  as  well  as  in  every 
other  state  of  human  society,  all  the  varieties 


■■'■ 

170  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 513. 

Social  instincts  of  man.  Their  universality. 

of  human  conduct  and  character  are  exhibited  ; 
and  the  attention  of  each  observer  is  attracted 
to  the  one  or  to  the  other  class  of  phenomena, 
according  to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is 
placed  when  he  makes  his  observations,  or  the 
mood  of  mind  which  prevails  within  him  when 
he  records  them.  There  must  be  the  usual 
virtues  of  social  life,  existing  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree,  in  all  human  communities ;  for  such 
principles  as  a  knowledge  of  the  distinction  of 
right  and  wrong,  the  idea  of  property  and  of 
individual  rights,  the  obligation  resting  on  every- 
one to  respect  them,  the  sense  of  justice,  and 
of  the  ill  desert  of  violence  and  cruelty,  are  all 
universal  instincts  of  the  human  soul,  as  uni- 
versal and  as  essential  to  humanity  as  mater- 
nal or  filial  affection,  or  the  principle  of  conju- 
gal love.  They  were  established  by  the  great 
Author  of  nature  as  constituent  elements  in  the 
formation  of  man.  Man  could  not  continue  to 
exist,  as  a  gregarious  animal,  without  them. 
It  would  accordingly  be  as  impossible  to  find  a 
community  of  men  without  these  moral  senti- 
ments generally  prevalent  among  them,  as  to 
find  vultures  or  tigers  that  did  not  like  to  pur- 
sue and  take  their  prey,  or  deer  without  a  pro- 
pensity to  fly  from  danger.      The   laws   and 


BC.513.]  Invasion  of  Scythia.  171 

Moral  sentiments  of  mankind.  Religious  depravity 

usages  of  civilized  society  are  the  expression 
and  the  result  of  these  sentiments,  not  the  ori- 
gin and  foundation  of  them  ;  and  violence,  cru- 
elty, and  crime  are  the  exceptions  to  their  op- 
eration, very  few,  in  all  communities,  savage 
or  civilized,  in  comparison  with  the  vast  pre- 
ponderance of  cases  in  which  they  are  obeyed. 

This  view  of  the  native  constitution  of  the 
human  character,  which  it  is  obvious,  on  very 
slight  reflection,  must  be  true,  is  not  at  all  op- 
posed, as  it  might  at  first  appear  to  be,  by  the 
doctrine  of  the  theological  writers  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church  in  respect  to  the  native  depravity 
of  man ;  for  the  depravity  here  referred  to  is  a 
religious  depravity,  an  alienation  of  the  heart 
from  God,  and  a  rebellious  and  insubmissive 
spirit  in  respect  to  his  law.  Neither  the  Scrip- 
tures nor  the  theological  writers  who  interpret 
them  ever  call  in  question  the  universal  ex- 
istence and  prevalence  of  those  instincts  that 
are  essential  to  the  social  welfare  of  man. 

But  we  must  return  to  the  Scythians. 

The  tribes  which  Darius  proposed  to  attack 
occupied  the  countries  north  of  the  Danube. 
His  route,  therefore,  for  the  invasion  of  their 
territories  would  lead  him  through  Asia  Minor, 
thence  across  the   Hellespont  or  the  Bosporus 


172  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  513. 

Advice  of  Artabanus.  Emissaries  sent  forward 

into  Thrace,  and  from  Thrace  across  the  Dan- 
ube.    It  was  a  distant  and  dangerous  expedition. 

Darius  had  a  brother  named  Artabanus.  Ar- 
tabanus was  of  opinion  that  the  enterprise  which 
the  kjng  was  contemplating  was  not  only  dis- 
tant and  dangerous,  but  that  the  country  of  the 
Scythians  was  of  so  little  value  that  the  end 
to  be  obtained  by  success  would  be  wholly  in- 
adequate to  compensate  for  the  exertions,  the 
costs,  and  the  hazards  which  he  must  necessa- 
rily incur  in  the  prosecution  of  it.  But  Darius 
was  not  to  be  dissuaded.  He  thanked  his 
brother  for  his  advice,  but  ordered  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  expedition  to  go  on. 

He  sent  emissaries  forward,  in  advance,  over 
the  route  that  his  army  was  destined  to  take, 
transmitting  orders  to  the  several  provinces 
which  were  situated  on  the  line  of  his  march 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  passage  of  his  troops. 
Among  other  preparations,  they  were  to  con- 
struct a  bridge  of  boats  across  the  Bosporus 
at  Chalcedon.  This  work  was  intrusted  to  the 
charge  and  superintendence  of  an  engineer  of 
Samos  named  Mandrocles.  The  people  of  the 
provinces  were  also  to  furnish  bodies  of  troops, 
both  infantry  and  cavalry,  to  join  the  army  on 
its  march. 


B.C. 513.]  Invasion  of  Scythia.  173 

The  petition  of  GEbazus.  Darius's  wanton  cruelty. 

The  soldiers  that  were  enlisted  to  go  on  this 
remote  and  dangerous  expedition  joined  the 
army,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  some  willingly, 
from  love  of  adventure,  or  the  hope  of  opportu- 
nities for  plunder,  and  for  that  unbridled  indul- 
gence of  appetite  and  passion  which  soldiers  so 
often  look  forward  to  as  a  part  of  their  reward ; 
others  from  hard  compulsion,  being  required  to 
leave  friends  and  home,  and  all  that  they  held 
dear,  under  the  terror  of  a  stern  and  despotic 
edict  which  they  dared  not  disobey.  It  was 
even  dangerous  to  ask  for  exemption. 

As  an  instance  of  this,  it  is  said  that  there 
was  a  Persian  named  (Ebazus,  who  had  three 
sons  that  had  been  drafted  into  the  army. 
(Ebazus,  desirous  of  not  being  left  wholly  alone 
in  his  old  age,  made  a  request  to  the  king  that 
he  would  allow  one  of  the  sons  to  remain  at 
home  with  his  father.  Darius  appeared  to  re- 
ceive this  petition  favorably.  He  told  (Ebazus 
that  the  request  was  so  very  modest  and  con- 
siderate that  he  would  grant  more  than  he 
asked.  He  would  allow  all  three  of  his  sons 
to  remain  with  him.  (Ebazus  retired  from  the 
king's  presence  overjoyed  at  the  thought  that 
his  family  was  not  to  be  separated  at  all.  Da- 
rius ordered  his  guards  to  kill  the  three  young 


174  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 513. 

Race  of  rendezvous.  The  fleet  of  galleys. 

men,  and  to  send  the  dead  bodies  home,  with  a 
message  to  their  father  that  his  sons  were  re- 
stored to  him,  released  forever  from  all  obliga- 
tion to  serve  the  king. 

The  place  of  general  rendezvous  for  the  va- 
rious forces  which  were  to  join  in  the  expedi- 
tion, consisting  of  the  army  which  marched  with 
Darius  from  Susa,  and  also  of  the  troops  and 
ships  which  the  maritime  provinces  of  Asia 
Minor  were  to  supply  on  the  way,  was  on  the 
shores  of  the  Bosporus,  at  the  point  where 
Mendrocles  had  constructed  the  bridge.*  The 
people  of  Ionia,  a  region  situated  in  Asia 
Minor,  on  the  shores  of  the  iEgean  Sea,  had 
been  ordered  to  furnish  a  fleet  of  galleys,  which 
they  were  to  build  and  equip,  and  then  send  to 
the  bridge.  The  destination  of  this  fleet  was 
to  the  Danube.  It  was  to  pass  up  the  Bospo- 
rus into  the  Euxine  Sea,  now  called  the  Black 
Sea,  and  thence  into  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
After  ascending  the  Danube  to  a  certain  point, 
the  men  were  to  land  and  build  a  bridge  across 
that  fiver,  using,  very  probably,  then  galleys 
for  this  purpose.  In  the  mean  time,  the  army 
was  to  cross  the  Bosporus  by  the  bridge  which 

*  For  the  track  of  Darius  on  this  expedition,  see  the  map 
at  the  commencement  of  this  volume. 


r-.-- 


B.C. 513.]  Invasion  of  Scythia.         175 

Darius's  march  through  Asia  Minor.  Monuments. 

had  been  erected  there  by  Mandrocles,  and  pur- 
sue their  way  toward  the  Danube  by  land, 
through  the  kingdom  of  Thrace.  By  this  ar- 
rangement, it  was  supposed  that  the  bridge 
across  the  Danube  would  be  ready  by  the  time 
that  the  main  body  of  the  army  arrived  on  the 
banks  of  the  river.  The  idea  of  thus  building 
in  Asia  Minor  a  bridge  for  the  Danube,  in  the 
form  of  a  vast  fleet  of  galleys,  to  be  sent  round 
through  the  Black  Sea  to  the  mouths  of  the 
river,  and  thence  up  the  river  to  its  place  of 
destination,  was  original  and  grand.  It  strik- 
ingly marks  the  military  genius  and  skill  which 
gave  the  Greeks  so  extended  a  fame,  for  it  was 
by  the  Greeks  that  the  exploit  was  to  be  per- 
formed. 

Darius  marched  magnificently  through  Asia 
Minor,  on  his  way  to  the  Bosporus,  at  the  head 
of  an  army  of  seventy  thousand  men.  He 
moved  slowly,  and  the  engineers  and  architects 
that  accompanied  him  built  columns  and  mon- 
uments here  and  there,  as  he  advanced,  to  com- 
memorate his  progress.  These  structures  were 
covered  with  inscriptions,  which  ascribed  to  Da- 
rius, as  the  leader  of  the  enterprise,  the  most 
extravagant  praise.  At  length  the  splendid 
array  arrived  at  the  place  of  rendezvous  on  the 


176  Darius  the  (treat.   [B.C.513. 

Arrival  at  the  Bosporus.  The  bridge  of  boats. 

Bosporus,  where  there  was  soon  presented  to 
view  a  very  grand  and  imposing  scene. 

The  bridge  of  boats  was  completed,  and  the 
Ionian  fleet,  consisting  of  six  hundred  galleys, 
was  at  anchor  near  it  in  the  stream.  Long 
lines  of  tents  were  pitched  upon  the  shore,  and 
thousands  of  horsemen  and  of  foot  soldiers  were 
drawn  up  in  array,  their  banners  flying,  and 
their  armor  glittering  in  the  sun,  and  all  eager 
to  see  and  to  welcome  the  illustrious  sovereign 
who  had  come,  with  so  much  pomp  and  splen- 
dor, to  take  them  under  his  command.  The 
banks  of  the  Bosporus  were  picturesque  and 
high,  and  all  the  eminences  were  crowded  with 
spectators,  to  witness  the  imposing  magnifi- 
cence of  the  spectacle. 

Darius  encamped  his  army  on  the  shore,  and 
began  to  make  the  preparations  necessary  for 
the  final  departure  of  the  expedition.  He  had 
been  thus  far  within  his  own  dominions.  He 
was  now,  however,  to  pass  into  another  quarter 
of  the  globe,  to  plunge  into  new  and  unknown 
dangers,  among  hostile,  savage,  and  ferocious 
tribes.  It  was  right  that  he  should  pause  until 
he  had  considered  well  his  plans,  and  secured 
attention  to  every  point  which  could  influence 
success. 


B.C.  513.]   Invasion  of   Scythia.  177 

Reward  of  Mandrocles.  The  group  of  statuary. 

He  first  examined  the  bridge  of  boats.  He 
was  very  much  pleased  with,  the  construction  of 
it.  He  commended  Mandrocles  for  his  skill  and 
fidelity  in  the  highest  terms,  and  loaded  him 
with  rewards  and  honors.  Mandrocles  used  the 
money  which  Darius  thus  gave  him  in  employ- 
ing an  artist  to  form  a  piece  of  statuary  which 
should  at  once  commemorate  the  building  of  the 
bridge  and  give  to  Darius  the  glory  of  it.  The 
group  represented  the  Bosporus  with  the  bridge 
thrown  over  it,  and  the  king  on  his  throne  re- 
viewing his  troops  as  they  passed  over  the  struc- 
ture. This  statuary  was  placed,  when  finished, 
in  a  temple  in  Greece,  where  it  was  universally 
admired.  Darius  was  very  much  pleased  both 
with  the  idea  of  this  sculpture  on  the  part  of 
Mandrocles,  and  with  the  execution  of  it  by  the 
artist.  He  gave  the  bridge  builder  new  re- 
wards ;  he  recompensed  the  artist,  also,  with 
similar  munificence.  He  was  pleased  that  they 
had  contrived  so  happy  a  way  of  at  the  same 
time  commemorating  the  bridging  of  the  Bos- 
porus and  rendering  exalted  honor  to  him. 

The  bridge  was  situated  about  the  middle  of 

the  Bosporus  ;  and  as  the  strait  itself  is  about 

eighteen  miles  long,  it  was  nine  miles  from  the 

bridge  to  the  Euxine  Sea.     There  is  a  small 

M 


178  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.513. 

The  Cyanean  Islands.  Darius  makes  an  excursion  to  them. 

group  of  islands  near  the  mouth  of  this  strait, 
where  it  opens  into  the  sea,  which  were  called 
in  those  days  the  Cyanean  Islands.  They  were 
famed  in  the  time  of  Darius  for  having  once 
been  floating  islands,  and  enchanted.  Their 
supernatural  properties  had  disappeared,  hut 
there  was  one  attraction  which  still  pertained 
to  them.  They  were  situated  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  strait,  and  the  visitor  who  landed  upon 
them  could  take  his  station  on  some  picturesque 
cliff  or  smiling  hill,  and  extend  his  view  far  and 
wide  over  the  blue  waters  of  the  Euxine  Sea. 

Darius  determined  to  make  an  excursion  to 
these  islands  while  the  fleet  and  the  army  were 
completing  their  preparations  at  the  bridge. 
He  embarked,  accordingly,  on  board  a  splendid 
galley,  and,  sailing  along  the  Bosporus  till  he 
reached  the  sea,  he  landed  on  one  of  the  islands. 
There  was  a  temple  there,  consecrated  to  one 
of  the  Grecian  deities.  Darius,  accompanied 
by  his  attendants  and  followers,  ascended  to 
this  temple,  and,  taking  a  seat  which  had  been 
provided  for  him  there,  he  surveyed  the  broad 
expanse  of  water  which  extended  like  an  ocean 
before  him,  and  contemplated  the  grandeur  of 
the  scene  with  the  greatest  admiration  and  de- 
light. 


B.C. 513.]  Invasion  of  Scytiiia.         179 

The  two  monuments.  Inscriptions  on  them. 

At  length  he  returned  to  the  bridge,  where 
he  found  the  preparations  for  the  movement  of 
the  fleet  and  of  the  army  nearly  completed.  He 
determined,  before  leaving  the  Asiatic  shores, 
to  erect  a  monument  to  commemorate  his  ex- 
pedition, on  the  spot  from  which  he  was  to  take 
his  final  departure.  He  accordingly  directed 
two  columns  of  white  marble  to  be  reared,  and 
inscriptions  to  be  cut  upon  them,  giving  such 
particulars  in  respect  to  the  expedition  as  it 
was  desirable  thus  to  preserve.  These  inscrip- 
tions contained  his  own  name  in  very  conspic- 
uous characters  as  the  leader  of  the  enterprise  ; 
also  an  enumeration  of  the  various  nations  that 
had  contributed  to  form  his  army,  with  the  num- 
bers which  each  had  furnished.  There  was  a 
record  of  corresponding  particulars,  too,  in  re- 
spect to  the  fleet.  The  inscriptions  were  the 
same  upon  the  two  columns,  except  that  upon 
the  one  it  was  written  in  the  Assyrian  tongue, 
which  was  the  general  language  of  the  Per- 
sian empire,  and  upon  the  other  in  the  Greek. 
Thus  the  two  monuments  were  intended,  the 
one  for  the  Asiatic,  and  the  other  for  the  Eu- 
ropean world. 

At  length  the  day  of  departure  arrived.  The 
fleet  set  sail,  and  the  immense  train  of  the  army 


180  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C. 513. 

The  troops  cross  the  bridge  Movements  of  the  fleet. 

put  itself  in  motion  to  cross  the  bridge.*  The 
fleet  went  on  through  the  Bosporus  to  the  Eux- 
ine,  and  thence  along  the  western  coast  of  that 
sea  till  it  reached  the  mouths  of  the  Danube. 
The  ships  entered  the  river  by  one  of  the  branch- 
es which  form  the  delta  of  the  stream,  and  as- 
cended for  two  days.  This  carried  them  above 
the  ramifications  into  which  the  river  divides 
itself  at  its  mouth,  to  a  spot  where  the  current 
was  confined  to  a  single  channel,  and  where 
the  banks  were  firm.  Here  they  landed,  and 
while  one  part  of  the  force  which  they  had 
brought  were  occupied  in  organizing  guards 
and  providing  defenses  to  protect  the  ground, 
the  remainder  commenced  the  work  of  arrang- 
ing the  vessels  of  the  fleet,  side  by  side,  across 
the  stream,  to  form  the  bridge. 

In  the  mean  time,  Darius,  leading  the  great 
body  of  the  army,  advanced  from  the  Bosporus 
by  land.  The  country  which  the  troops  thus 
traversed  was  Thrace.  They  met  with  various 
adventures  as  they  proceeded,  and  saw,  as  the 
accounts  of  the  expedition  state,  many  strange 
and  marvelous  phenomena.  They  came,  for  ex- 
ample, to  the  sources  of  a  very  wonderful  river, 
which  flows  west  and  south  toward  the  iEgean 
*  See  Frontispiece. 


B.C.  513.]  Invasion  of   Scythia.  181 

The  River  Teams.  Its  wonderful  sources. 

Sea.  The  name  of  the  river  was  the  Teams. 
It  came  from  thirty-eight  springs,  all  issuing 
from  the  same  rock,  some  hot  and  some  cold. 
The  waters  of  the  stream  which  was  produced 
hy  the  mingling  of  these  fountains  were  pure, 
limpid,  and  delicious,  and  were  possessed  of  re- 
markable medicinal  properties,  being  effica- 
cious for  the  cure  of  various  diseases.  Darius 
was  so  much  pleased  with  this  river,  that  his 
army  halted  to  refresh  themselves  with  its 
waters,  and  he  caused  one  of  his  monuments 
to  be  erected  on  the  spot,  the  inscription  of 
which  contained  not  only  the  usual  memorials 
of  the  march,  but  also  a  tribute  to  the  salubrity 
of  the  waters  of  this  magical  stream. 

At  one  point  in  the  course  of  the  march 
through  Thrace,  Darius  conceived  the  idea  of 
varying  the  construction  of  his  line  of  monu- 
ments by  building  a  cairn.  A  cairn  is  a  heap 
of  stones,  such  as  is  reared  in  the  mountains  of 
Scotland  and  of  Switzerland  by  the  voluntary 
additions  of  every  passer  by,  to  commemorate  a 
spot  marked  as  the  scene  of  some  accident  or 
disaster.  As  each  guide  finishes  the  story  of 
the  incident  in  the  hearing  of  the  party  which 
he  conducts,  each  tourist  who  has  listened  to  it 
adds  his  stone  to  the  heap,  until  the  rude  struc- 


182  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  513. 

The  cairn.  Primitive  mode  of  ccnsus-Uiking. 

ture  attains  sometimes  to  a  very  considerable 
size.  Darius,  fixing  upon  a  suitable  spot  near 
one  of  his  encampments,  commanded  every  sol- 
dier in  the  army  to  bring  a  stone  and  place  it 
on  the  pile.  A  vast  mound  rose  rapidly  from 
these  contributions,  which,  when  completed,  not 
only  commemorated  the  march  of  the  army, 
but  denoted,  also,  by  the  immense  number  of 
the  stones  entering  into  the  composition  of  the 
pile,  the  countless  multitude  of  soldiers  that 
formed  the  expedition. 

There  was  a  story  told  to  Darius,  as  he  was 
traversing  these  regions,  of  a  certain  king,  reign- 
ing over  some  one  of  the  nations  that  occupied 
them,  who  wished  to  make  an  enumeration  of 
the  inhabitants  of  his  realm.  The  mode  which 
he  adopted  was  to  require  every  man  in  his  do- 
minions to  send  him  an  arrow  head.  When  all 
the  arrow  heads  were  in,  the  vast  collection  was 
counted  by  the  official  arithmeticians,  and  the 
total  of  the  population  was  thus  attained.  The 
arrow  heads  were  then  laid  together  in  a  sort 
of  monumental  pile.  It  was,  perhaps,  this 
primitive  mode  of  census-taking  which  sug- 
gested to  Darius  the  idea  of  his  cairn. 

There  was  a  tribe  of  barbarians  through 
whose  dominions  Darius  passed  on  his  way  from 


B.C.513.]  Invasion  of   Scythia.  183 

Instinctive  feeling  of  dependence  on  a  supernatural  power. 

the  Bosporus  to  the  Danube,  that  observed  a 
custom  in  their  religious  worship,  which,  though 
in  itself  of  a  shocking  character,  suggests  re- 
flections of  salutary  influence  for  our  own 
minds.  There  is  a  universal  instinct  in  the 
human  heart,  leading  it  strongly  to  feel  the 
need  of  help  from  an  unseen  and  supernatural 
world  in  its  sorrows  and  trials  ;  and  it  is  almost 
always  the  case  that  rude  and  savage  nations, 
in  their  attempts  to  obtain  this  spiritual  aid, 
connect  the  idea  of  personal  privation  and  suf- 
fering on  their  part,  self  inflicted  if  necessary, 
as  a  means  of  seeking  it.  It  seems  as  if  the 
instinctive  conviction  of  personal  guilt,  which 
associates  itself  so  naturally  and  so  strongly  in 
the  minds  of  men  with  all  conceptions  of  the 
unseen  world  and  of  divine  power,  demands 
something  like  an  expiation  as  an  essential  pre- 
requisite to  obtaining  audience  and  acceptance 
with  the  King  of  Heaven.  The  tribe  of  sav- 
ages above  referred  to  manifested  this  feeling 
by  a  dreadful  observance.  Once  in  every  five 
years  they  were  accustomed  to  choose  by  lot. 
with  solemn  ceremonies,  one  of  their  number, 
to  be  sent  as  a  legate  or  embassador  to  their 
god.  The  victim,  when  chosen,  was  laid  down 
upon  the  ground  in  the  midst  of  the  vast  as- 


184 

Darius 

THE 

G 

RE  AT. 

[B.C. 

513. 

Strange 

rclijj 

;ious  observance. 

Arrival  at  the  Danube. 

sembly  convened  to  witness  the  rite,  while  offi- 
cers designated  for  the  purpose  stood  by,  armed 
with  javelins.  Other  men,  selected  for  their 
great  personal  strength,  then  took  the  man 
from  the  ground  hy  the  hands  and  feet,  and 
swinging  him  to  and  fro  three  times  to  gain 
momentum,  they  threw  him  with -all  their  force 
into  the  air,  and  the  armed  men,  when  he  came 
down,  caught  him  on  the  points  of  their  jave- 
lins. If  he  was  killed  hy  this  dreadful  impale- 
ment, all  was  right.  He  would  hear  the.  mes- 
sage of  the  wants  and  necessities  of  the  tribe  to 
their  god,  and  they  might  reasonably  expect  a 
favorable  reception.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
did  not  die,  he  was  thought  to  be  rejected  by  the 
god  as  a  wicked  man  and  an  unsuitable  mes- 
senger. The  unfortunate  convalescent  was,  in 
such  cases,  dismissed  in  disgrace,  and  another 
messenger  chosen. 

The  army  of  Darius  reached  the  banks  of  the 
Danube  at  last,  and  they  found  that  the  fleet 
of  the  Ionians  had  attained  the  point  agreed 
upon  before  them,  and  were  awaiting  their  ar- 
rival. The  vessels  were  soon  arranged  in  the 
form  of  a  bridge  across  the  stream,  and  as  there 
was  no  enemy  at  hand  to  embarrass  them,  the 
army   soon    accomplished  the  passage.     They 


B.C.  513.]  Invasion  of  Scythia.  185 

Orders  to  destroy  the  bridge.  Counsel  of  the  Grecian  general. 

were  now  fairly  in  the  Scythian  country,  and 
immediately  began  their  preparations  to  ad- 
vance and  meet  the  foe.  Darius  gave  orders 
to  have  the  bridge  broken  up,  and  the  galleys 
abandoned  and  destroyed,  as  he  chose  rather  to 
take  with  him  the  whole  of  his  force,  than  to 
leave  a  guard  behind  sufficient  to  protect  this 
■  shipping.  These  orders  were  about  to  be  exe- 
cuted, when  a  Grecian  general,  who  was  at- 
tached to  one  of  the  bodies  of  troops  which  were 
furnished  from  the  provinces  of  Asia  Minor, 
asked  leave  to  speak  to  the  king.  The  king 
granted  him  an  audience,  when  he  expressed 
his  opinion  as  follows : 

"  It  seems  to  me  to  be  more  prudent,  sire,  to 
leave  the  bridge  as  it  is,  under  the  care  of  those 
who  have  constructed  it,  as  it  may  be  that  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  use  it  on  our  return.  I 
do  not  recommend  the  preservation  of  it  as  a 
means  of  securing  a  retreat,  for,  in  case  we  meet 
the  Scythians  at  all,  I  am  confident  of  victory ; 
but  our  enemy  consists  of  wandering  hordes 
who  have  no  fixed  habitation,  and  their  coun- 
try is  entirely  without  cities  or  posts  of  any 
kind  which  they  will  feel  any  strong  interest  in 
defending,  and  thus  it  is  possible  that  we  may 
not  be  able  to  find  any  enemy  to  combat.     Be- 


186  Darius  the  (treat.  [B.C.  513. 

The  bridge  is  preserved.  Guard  left  to  protect  it. 

sides,  if  we  succeed  in  our  enterprise  as  com- 
pletely as  we  can  desire,  it  will  be  important, 
on  many  accounts,  to  preserve  an  open  and 
free  communication  with  the  countries  "behind 


The  king  approved  of  this  counsel,  and  coun- 
termanded his  orders  for  the  destruction  of  the 
bridge.  He  directed  that  the  Ionian  forces  that 
had  accompanied  the  fleet  should  remain  at  the 
river  to  guard  the  bridge.  They  were  to  re- 
main thus  on  guard  for  two  months,  and  then, 
if  Darius  did  not  return,  and  if  they  heard  no 
tidings  of  him,  they  were  at  liberty  to  leave 
their  post,  and  to  go  back,  with  their  galleys, 
to  their  own  land  again. 

Two  months  would  seem  to  be  a  very  short 
time  to  await  the  return  of  an  army  going  on 
such  an  expedition  into  boundless  and  trackless 
wilds.  There  can,  however,  scarcely  be  any 
accidental  error  in  the  statement  of  the  time,  as 
the  mode  which  Darius  adopted  to  enable  the 
guard  thus  left  at  the  bridge  to  keep  their  reck- 
oning was  a  very  singular  one,  and  it  is  very 
particularly  described.  He  took  a  cord,  it  is 
said,  and  tied  sixty  knots  in  it.  This  cord  he 
delivered  to  the  Ionian  chiefs  who  were  to  be 
left  in  charge  of  the  bridge,  directing  them  to 


B.C.  513.]  Invasion  of  Scytiiia.  187 

Singular  mode  of  reckoning.  Probable  reason  for  employing  it. 

untie  one  of  the  knots  every  day.  When  the 
cord  should  become,  hy  this  process,  wholly 
free,  the  detachment  were  also  at  liberty.  They 
might  thereafter,  at  any  time,  abandon  the  post 
intrusted  to  them,  and  return  to  their  homes. 

"We  can  not  suppose  that  military  men,  cap- 
able of  organizing  a  force  of  seventy  thousand 
troops  for  so  distant  an  expedition,  and  possess- 
ed of  sufficient  science  and  skill  to  bridge  the 
Bosporus  and  the  Danube,  could  have  been 
under  any  necessity  of  adopting  so  childish  a 
method  as  this  as  a  real  reliance  in  regulating 
their  operations.  It  must  be  recollected,  how- 
ever, that,  though  the  commanders  in  these  an- 
cient days  were  intelligent  and  strong-minded 
men,  the  common  soldiers  were  but  children 
both  in  intellect  and  in  ideas ;  and  it  was  the 
custom  of  all  great  commanders  to  employ  out- 
ward and  visible  symbols  to  influence  and  gov- 
ern them.  The  sense  of  loneliness  and  deser- 
tion which  such  soldiers  would  naturally  feel  in 
being  left  in  solitude  on  the  banks  of  the  river, 
would  be  much  diminished  by  seeing  before 
them  a  marked  and  definite  termination  to  the 
period  of  their  stay,  and  to  have,  in  the  cord 
hanging  up  in  their  camp,  a  visible  token  that 
the  remnant  of  time  that  remained  was  steadily 


188  Darius  the   Great.   [B.C.513. 

Darius's  determination  to  return  before  the  knots  should  be  all  untied. 

diminishing  day  by  day ;  while,  in  the  mean 
time,  Darius  was  fully  determined  that,  long 
before  the  knots  should  be  all  untied,  he  would 
return  to  the  river. 


B.C. 513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    189 

Motive  for  Darius's  invasion.  The  foundation  of  government. 


Chapter   IX. 

The  Retreat  from  Scythia. 

HPHE  motive  which  dictated  Darius's  inva- 
-*-  sion  of  Scythia  seems  to  have  been  purely 
a  selfish  and  domineering  love  of  power.  The 
attempts  of  a  stronger  and  more  highly  civil- 
ized state  to  extend  its  dominion  over  a  weaker 
and  more  lawless  one,  are  not,  however,  neces- 
sarily and  always  of  this  character.  Divine 
Providence,  in  making  men  gregarious  in  na- 
ture, has  given  them  an  instinct  of  organiza- 
tion, which  is  as  intrinsic  and  as  essential  a 
characteristic  of  the  human  soul  as  maternal 
love  or  the  principle  of  self-preservation.  The 
right,  therefore,  of  organizations  of  men  to  es- 
tablish law  and  order  among  themselves,  and  to 
extend  these  principles  to  other  communities 
around  them,  so  far  as  such  interpositions  are 
really  promotive  of  the  interests  and  welfare  of 
those  affected  by  them,  rests  on  precisely  the 
same  foundation  as  the  right  of  the  father  to 
govern  the  child.  This  foundation  is  the  exist- 
ence and  universality  of  an  instinctive  principle 


190  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.513. 

Darius  without  justification  in  invading  Scythia. 

implanted  by  the  Creator  in  the  human  heart ; 
a  principle  which  we  are  bound  to  submit  to, 
both  because  it  is  a  fundamental  and  constitu- 
ent element  in  the  very  structure  of  man,  and 
because  its  recognition  and  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  its  authority  are  absolutely  essential  to 
his  continued  existence.  Wherever  law  and  or- 
der, therefore,  among  men  do  not  exist,  it  may 
be  properly  established  and  enforced  by  any 
neighboring  organization  that  has  power  to  do 
it,  just  as  wherever  there  is  a  group  of  children 
they  may  be  justly  controlled  and  governed  by 
their  father.  It  seems  equally  unnecessary  to 
invent  a  fictitious  and  wholly  imaginary  com- 
pact to  justify  the  jurisdiction  in  the  one  case 
as  in  the  other. 

If  the  Scythians,  therefore,  had  been  in  a 
state  of  confusion  and  anarchy,  Darius  might 
justly  have  extended  his  own  well-regulated 
and  settled  government  over  them,  and,  in  so 
doing,  would  have  promoted  the  general  good 
of  mankind.  But  he  had  no  such  design.  It 
was  a  desire  for  personal  aggrandizement,  and 
a  love  of  fame  and  power,  which  prompted  him. 
He  offered  it  as  a  pretext  to  justify  his  inva- 
sion, that  the  Scythians,  in  former  years,  had 
made  incursions  into  the  Persian  dominions; 


B.C. 513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    191 

Alarm  of  the  Scythians.  Condition  of  the  tribes. 

but  this  was  only  a  pretext.  The  expedition 
was  a  wanton  attack  upon  neighbors  whom  he 
supposed  unable  to  resist  him,  simply  for  the 
purpose  of  adding  to  his  own  already  gigantic 
power. 

When  Darius  commenced  his  march,  from 
the  river,  the  Scythians  had  heard  rumors  of 
his  approach.  They  sent,  as  soon  as  they  were 
aware  of  the  impending  danger,  to  all  the  na- 
tions and  tribes  around  them,  in  order  to  se- 
cure their  alliance  and  aid  These  people  were 
all  wandering  and  half-savage  tribes,  like  the 
Scythians  themselves,  though  each  seems  to 
have  possessed  its  own  special  and  distinctive 
mark  of  barbarity.  One  tribe  were  accustom- 
ed to  carry  home  the  heads  of  the  enemies 
which  they  had  slain  in  battle,  and  each  one, 
impaling  his  own  dreadful  trophy  upon  a  stake, 
would  set  it  up  upon  his  house-top,  over  the 
chimney,  where  they  imagined  that  it  would 
have  the  effect  of  a  charm,  and  serve  as  a  pro- 
tection for  the  family.  Another  tribe  lived  in 
habits  of  promiscuous  intercourse,  like  the  low- 
er orders  of  animals ;  and  so,  as  the  historian 
absurdly  states,  being,  in  consequence  of  this 
mode  of  life,  all  connected  together  by  the  ties 
of  consanguinity,  they  lived  in  perpetual  peace 


192  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.513. 

Men  metamorphosed  into  wolves.  Story  of  the  Amazons. 

and  good  will,  without  any  envy,  or  jealousy, 
or  other  evil  passion.  A  third  occupied  a  re- 
gion so  infested  with  serpents  that  they  were 
once  driven  wholly  out  of  the  country  by  them. 
It  was  said  of  these  people  that,  once  in  every 
year,  they  were  all  metamorphosed  into  wolves, 
and,  after  remaining  for  a  few  days  in  this  form, 
they  were  transformed  again  into  men.  A 
fourth  tribe  painted  their  bodies  blue  and  red, 
and  a  fifth  were  cannibals. 

The  most  remarkable,  however,  of  all  the 
tales  related  about  these  northern  savages  was 
the  story  of  the  Sauromateans  and  their  Ama- 
zonian wives.  The  Amazons  were  a  nation  of 
masculine  and  ferocious  women,  who  often  fig- 
ure in  ancient  histories  and  legends.  They 
rode  on  horseback  astride  like  men,  and  their 
courage  and  strength  in  battle  were  such  that 
scarcely  any  troops  could  subdue  them.  It 
happened,  however,  upon  one  time,  that  some 
Greeks  conquered  a  body  of  them  somewhere 
upon  the  shores  of  the  Euxine  Sea,  and  took  a 
large  number  of  them  prisoners.  They  placed 
these  prisoners  on  board  of  three  ships,  and  put 
to  sea  The  Amazons  rose  upon  their  captors 
and  threw  them  overboard,  and  thus  obtained 
possession  of  the  ships.     They  immediately  pro- 


B.C. 513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    193 

Adventures  of  the  Amazons.  Two  of  them  captured. 

ceeded  toward  the  shore,  and  landed,  not  know- 
ing where  they  were.  It  happened  to  be  on 
the  northwestern  coast  of  the  sea  that  they 
landed.  Here  they  roamed  up  and  down  the 
country,  until  presently  they  fell  in  with  a 
troop  of  horses.  These  they  seized  and  mount- 
ed, arming  themselves,  at  the  same  time,  either 
with  the  weapons  which  they  had  procured  on 
board  the  ships,  or  fabricated,  themselves,  on 
the  shore.  Thus  organized  and  equipped,  they 
began  to  make  excursions  for  plunder,  and  soon 
became  a  most  formidable  band  of  marauders. 
The  Scythians  of  the  country  supposed  that 
they  were  men,  but  they  could  learn  nothing 
certain  respecting  them.  Their  language,  their 
appearance,  their  manners,  and  their  dress  were 
totally  new,  and  the  inhabitants  were  utterly 
unable  to  conceive  who  they  were,  and  from 
what  place  they  could  so  suddenly  and  myste- 
riously have  come. 

At  last,  in  one  of  the  encounters  which  took 
place,  the  Scythians  took  two  of  these  strange 
invaders  prisoners  To  their  utter  amazement, 
they  found  that  they  were  women.  On  mak- 
ing this  discovery,  they  changed  their  mode  of 
dealing  with  them,  and  resolved  upon  a  plan 
based  on  the  supposed  universality  of  the  in- 
N 


194  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C.513. 

The  corps  of  cavaliers  Their  maneuvers- 

stincts  of  their  sex  They  enlisted  a  corps  of 
the  most  handsome  and  vigorous  young  men 
that  could  be  obtained,  and  after  giving  them 
instructions,  the  nature  of  which  will  he  learn- 
ed by  the  result,  they  sent  them  forth  to  meet 
the  Amazons. 

The  corps  of  Scythian  cavaliers  went  out  to 
seek  their  female  antagonists  with  designs  any 
thing  but  belligerent.  They  advanced  to  the 
encampment  of  the  Amazons,  and  hovered 
about  for  some  time  in  their  vicinity,  without, 
however,  making  any  warlike  demonstrations. 
They  had  been  instructed  to  show  themselves 
as  much  as  possible  to  the  enemy,  but  by  no 
means  to  fight  them.  They  would,  accordingly, 
draw  as  near  to  the  Amazons  as  was  safe,  and 
linger  there,  gazing  upon  them,  as  if  under  the 
influence  of  some  sort  of  fascination.  If  the 
Amazons  advanced  toward  them,  they  would 
fall  back,  and  if  the  advance  continued,  they 
would  retreat  fast  enough  to  keep  effectually 
out  of  the  way.  Then,  when  the  Amazons 
turned,  they  would  turn  too,  follow  them  back, 
and  linger  near  them,  around  their  encamp- 
ment, as  before. 

The  Amazonians  were  for  a  time  puzzled 
with  this  strange  demeanor,  and  they  gradually 


B.C.  513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.   195 

Success  of  the  cavaliers.  •Matrimonial  alliances. 

learned  to  look  upon  the  handsome  horsemen 
at  first  without  fear,  and  finally  even  without 
hostility.  At  length,  one  day,  one  of  the  young 
horsemen,  observing  an  Amazon  who  had  stray- 
ed away  from  the  rest,  followed  and  joined  her. 
She  did  not  repel  him.  They  were  not  able  to 
converse  together,  as  neither  knew  the  lan- 
guage of  the  other.  They  established  a  friend- 
ly intercourse,  however,  by  looks  and  signs,  and 
after  a  time  they  separated,  each  agreeing  to 
bring  one  of  their  companions  to  the  place  of 
rendezvous  on  the  following  day. 

A  friendly  intercommunication  being  thus 
commenced,  the  example  spread  very  rapidly ; 
matrimonial  alliances  began  to  be  formed,  and, 
in  a  word,  a  short  time  only  elapsed  before  the 
two  camps  were  united  and  intermingled,  the 
Scythians  and  the  Amazons  being  all  paired 
together  in  the  most  intimate  relations  of  do- 
mestic life.  Thus,  true  to  the  instincts  of  their 
sex,  the  rude  and  terrible  maidens  decided, 
when  the  alternative  was  fairly  presented  ^to 
them,  in  favor  of  husbands  and  homes,  rather 
than  continuing  the  life  they  had  led,  of  inde- 
pendence, conflict,  and  plunder.  It  is  curious 
to  observe  that  the  means  by  which  they  were 
won,  namely,  a  persevering  display  of  admira- 


196  Darius  the  (treat.    [B.C.  513. 

The  Amazons  rule  their  husbands.  They  establish  a  separate  tribe. 

tion  and  attentions,  steadily  continued,  but  not 
too  eagerly  and  impatiently  pressed,  and  varied 
with  an  adroit  and  artful  alternation  of  advanc- 
es and  retreats,  were  precisely  the  same  as 
those  by  which,  in  every  age,  the  attempt  is 
usually  made  to  win  the  heart  of  woman  from 
hatred  and  hostility  to  love. 

"We  speak  of  the  Amazonians  as  having  been 
won ;  but  they  were,  in  fact,  themselves  the 
conquerors  of  their  "captors,  after  all ;  for  it  ap- 
peared, in  the  end,  that  in  the  future  plans  and 
arrangements  of  the  united  body,  they  ruled 
their  Scythian  husbands,  and  not  the  Scythians 
them.  The  husbands  wished  to  return  home 
with  their  wives,  whom,  they  said,  they  would 
protect  and  maintain  in  the  midst  of  their  coun- 
trymen in  honor  and  in  peace.  The  Amazons, 
however,  were  in  favor  of  another  plan.  Their 
habits  and  manners  were  such,  they  said,  that 
they  should  not  be  respected  and  beloved  among 
any  other  people.  They  wished  that  their  hus- 
bands, therefore,  would  go  home  and  settle  their 
affairs,  and  afterward  return  and  join  their 
wives  again,  and  then  that  all  together  should 
move  to  the  eastward,  until  ~they  should  find  a 
suitable  place  to  settle  in  by  themselves.  This 
plan  was  acceded  to  by  the  husbands,  and  was 


B.C. 513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    197 

The  Scythians  send  an  embassy  to  the  neighboring  tribes. 

carried  into  execution ;  and  the  result  was  the 
planting  of  a  new  nation,  called  the  Sauroma- 
teans,  who  thenceforth  took  their  place  among 
the  other  barbarous  tribes  that  dwelt  upon  the 
northern  shores  of  the  Euxine  Sea. 

Such  was  the  character  of  the  tribes  and  na- 
tions that  dwelt  hi  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Scythian  country.  As  soon  as  Darius  had 
passed  the  river,  the  Scythians  sent  embassa- 
dors to  all  their  people,  proposing  to  them  to 
form  a  general  alliance  against  the  invader. 
"  We  ought  to  make  common  cause  against 
him,"  said  they  ;  "  for  if  he  subdues  one  nation, 
it  will  only  open  the  way  for  an  attack  upon 
the  rest.  Some  of  us  are,  it  is  true,  more  re- 
mote than  others  from  the  immediate  danger, 
but  it  threatens  us  all  equally  in  the  end." 

The  embassadors  delivered  their  message,  and 
some  of  the  tribes  acceded  to  the  Scythian  pro- 
posals. Others,  however,  refused.  The  quar- 
rel, they  said,  was  a  quarrel  between  Darius 
and  the  Scythians  alone,  and  they  were  not  in- 
clined to  bring  upon  themselves  the  hostility  of 
so  powerful  a  sovereign  by  interfering.  The 
Scythians  were  very  indignant  at  this  refusal ; 
but  there  was  no  remedy,  and  they  accordingly 
began  to  prepare  to  defend  themselves  as  well 


198  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 513. 

Habits  of  the  Scythians.  Their  mode  of  warfare. 

as  they  could,  with  the  help  of  those  nations 
that  had  expressed  a  willingness  to  join  them. 

The  habits  of  the  Scythians  were  nomadic 
and  wandering,  and  their  country  was  one  vast 
region  of  verdant  and  beautiful,  and  yet,  in  a 
great  measure,  of  uncultivated  and  trackless 
wilds.  They  had  few  towns  and  villages,  and 
those  few  were  of  little  value.  They  adopted, 
therefore,  the  mode  of  warfare  which,  in'  such  a 
country  and  for  such  a  people,  is  always  the 
wisest  to  be  pursued.  They  retreated  slowly 
before  Darius' s  advancing  army,  carrying  off 
or  destroying  all  such  property  as  might  aid  the 
king  in  respect  to  his  supplies.  They  organized 
and  equipped  a  body  of  swift  horsemen,  who 
were  ordered  to  hover  around  Darius' s  camp, 
and  bring  intelligence  to  the  Scythian  generals 
of  every  movement.  These  horsemen,  too,  were 
to  harass  the  flanks  and  the  rear  of  the  army, 
and  to  capture  or  destroy  every  man  whom  they 
should  find  straying  away  from  the  camp.  By 
this  means  they  kept  the  invading  army  con- 
tinually on  the  alert,  allowing  them  no  peace 
and  no  repose,  while  yet  they  thwarted  and 
counteracted  all  the  plans  and  efforts  which  the 
enemy  made  to  bring  on  a  general  battle. 

As  the  Persians  advanced  in  pursuit  of  the 


B.C. 513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    199 

Message  to  Indathyrsus.  His  reply. 

enemy,  the  Scythians  retreated,  and  in  this  re- 
treat they  directed  their  course  toward  the 
countries  occupied  by  those  nations  that  had 
refused  to  join  in  the  alliance.  By  this  artful 
management  they  transferred  the  calamity  and 
the  burden  of  the  war  to  the  territories  of  their 
neighbors.  Darius  soon  found  that  he  was  ma- 
king no  progress  toward  gaining  his  end.  At 
length  he  concluded  to  try  the  effect  of  a  di- 
rect and  open  challenge. 

He  accordingly  sent  embassadors  to  the 
Scythian  chief,  whose  name  was  Indathyrsus, 
with  a  message  somewhat  as  follows : 

"  Foolish  man !  how  long  will  you  continue 
to  act  in  this  absurd  and  preposterous  manner  ? 
It  is  incumbent  on  you  to  make  a  decision  in 
favor  of  one  thing  or  the  other.  If  you  think 
that  you  are  able  to  contend  with  me,  stop,  and 
let  us  engage.  If  not,  then  acknowledge  me  as 
your  superior,  and  submit  to  my  authority." 

The  Scythian  chief  sent  back  the  following 
reply : 

"  We  have  no  inducement  to  contend  with 
you  in  open  battle  on  the  field,  because  you 
are  not  doing  us  any  injury,  nor  is  it  at  present 
in  your  power  to  do.  us  any.  We  have  no  cit- 
ies and  no  cultivated  fields  that  you  can  seize 


200  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.  513. 

The  Scythian  cavalry.  Their  attacks  on  the  Persians. 

or  plunder.  Your  roaming  about  our  country, 
therefore,  does  us  no  harm,  and  you  are  at  lib- 
erty to  continue  it  as  long  as  it  gives  you  any 
pleasure.  There  is  nothing  on  our  soil  that 
you  can  injure,  except  one  spot,  and  that  is  the 
place  where  the  sepulchres  of  our  fathers  he. 
If  you  were  to  attack  that  spot — which  you 
may  perhaps  do,  if  you  can  find  it — you  may 
rely  upon  a  battle.  In  the  mean  time,  you 
may  go  elsewhere,  wherever  you  please.  As 
to  acknowledging  your  superiority,  we  shall  do 
nothing  of  the  kind.     We  defy  you." 

Notwithstanding  the  refusal  of  the  Scythians 
to  give  the  Persians  battle,  they  yet  made,  from 
time  to  time,  partial  and  unexpected  onsets 
upon  their  camp,  seizing  occasions  when  they 
hoped  to  find  their  enemies  off  their  guard. 
The  Scythians  had  troops  of  cavalry  which 
were  very  efficient  and  successful  in  these  at- 
tacks. These  horsemen  were,  however,  some- 
times thrown  into  confusion  and  driven  back 
by  a  very  singular  means  of  defense.  It  seems 
that  the  Persians  had  brought  with  them  from 
Europe,  in  their  train,  a  great  number  of  asses, 
as  beasts  of  burden,  to  transport  the  tents  and 
the  baggage  of  the  army.  These  asses  were 
accustomed,  in  times  of  excitement  and  dan- 


B.C.  513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.   201 

Braying  of  the  Persian  asses  Scythians  sent  to  the  bridge. 

ger,  to  set  up  a  very  terrific  braying.  It  was, 
in  fact,  all  that  they  could  do  Braying  at  a 
danger  seems  to  be  a  very  ridiculous  mode  of 
attempting  to  avert  it,  but  it  was  a  tolerably 
effectual  mode,  nevertheless,  in  this  case  at 
least ;  for  the  Scythian  horses,  who  would  have 
faced  spears  and  javelins,  and  the  loudest  shouts 
and  vociferations  of  human  adversaries  without 
any  fear,  were  appalled  and  put  to  flight  at 
hearing  the  unearthly  noises  which  issued  from 
the  Persian  camp  whenever  they  approached  it. 
Thus  the  mighty  monarch  of  the  whole  Asiatic 
world  seemed  to  depend  for  protection  against 
the  onsets  of  these  rude  and  savage  troops  on 
the  braying  of  his  asses  ! 

While  the  S3  things  were  going  on  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  country,  the  Scythians  sent  down 
a  detachment  of  their  forces  to  the  banks  of 
the  Danube,  to  see  if  they  could  not,  in  some 
way  or  other,  obtain  possession  of  the  bridge. 
They  learned  here  what  the  orders  were  which 
Darius  had  given  to  the  Ionians  who  had  been 
left  in  charge,  in  respect  to  the  time  of  their  re- 
maining at  their  post.  The  Scythians  told 
them  that  if  they  would  govern  themselves 
strictly  by  those  orders,  and  so  break  up  the 


202  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  513. 

Agreement  with  the  Ionians.  The  Scythians  change  their  policy 

bridge  and  go  down  the  river  with  then*  boats 
as  soon  as  the  two  months  should  have  ex- 
pired, they  should  not  be  molested  in  the  mean 
time.  The  Ionians  agreed  to  this.  The  time 
was  then  already  nearly  gone,  and  they  prom- 
ised that,  so  soon  as  it  should  be  fully  expired, 
they  would  withdraw. 

The  Scythian  detachment  sent  back  word  to 
the  main  army  acquainting  them  with  these 
facts,  and  the  army  accordingly  resolved  on  a 
change  in  their  policy.  Instead  of  harassing 
and  distressing  the  Persians  as  they  had  done, 
to  hasten  their  departure,  they  now  determined 
to  improve  the  situation  of  their  enemies,  and 
encourage  them  in  their  hopes,  so  as  to  protract 
their  stay.  They  accordingly  allowed  the  Per- 
sians to  gain  the  advantage  over  them  in  small 
skirmishes,  and  they  managed,  also,  to  have 
droves  of  cattle  fall  into  their  hands,  from  time 
to  time,  so  as  to  supply  them  with  food.  The 
Persians  were  quite  elated  with  these  indica- 
tions that  the  tide  of  fortune  was  about  to  turn 
in  their  favor. 

While  things  were  in  this  state,  there  ap- 
peared one  day  at  the  Persian  camp  a  messen- 
ger from  the  Scythians,  who  said  that  he  had 
some  presents  from  the  Scythian  chief  for  Da- 


B.C.  513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    203 

The  Scythians'  strange  presents.  Various  interpretations. 

rius.  The  messenger  was  admitted,  and  allow- 
ed to  deliver  his  gifts.  The  gifts  proved  to  be 
a  bird,  a  mouse,  a  frog,  and  five  arrows.  The 
Persians  asked  the  bearer  of  these  strange  of- 
ferings what  the  Scythians  meant  by  them. 
He  replied  that  he  had  no  explanations  to  give. 
His  orders  were,  he  said,  to  deliver  the  presents 
and  then  return ;  and  that  they  must,  accord- 
ingly, find  out  the  meaning  intended  by  the  ex- 
ercise of  their  own  ingenuity. 

When  the  messenger  had  retired,  Darius  and 
the  Persians  consulted  together,  to  determine 
what  so  strange  a  communication  could  mean. 
They  could  not,  however,  come  to  any  satisfac- 
tory decision.  Darius  said  that  he  thought  the 
three  animals  might  probably  be  intended  to 
denote  the  three  kingdoms  of  nature  to  which 
the  said  animals  respectively  belonged,  viz.,  the 
earth,  the  air,  and  the  water ;  and  as  the  giving 
up  of  weapons  was  a  token  of  submission,  the 
whole  might  mean  that  the  Scythians  were 
now  ready  to  give  up  the  contest,  and  acknowl- 
edge the  right  of  the  Persians  to  supreme  and 
universal  dominion. 

The  officers,  however,  did  not  generally  con- 
cur in  this  opinion.  They  saw  no  indications, 
they  said,  of  any  disposition  on  the  part  of  the 


204  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.513. 

Opinions  of  the  Persian  officers.       The  Scythians  draw  up  their  forces. 

Scythians  to  surrender.  They  thought  it  quite 
as  probable  that  the  communication  was  meant 
to  announce  to  those  who  received  it  threats 
and  defiance,  as  to  express  conciliation  and  sub- 
mission. "  It  may  mean,"  said  one  of  them, 
"that,  unless  you  can  fly  like  a  bird  into  the 
air,  or  hide  like  a  mouse  in  the  ground,  or  bury 
yourselves,  like  the  frog,  in  morasses  and  fens, 
you  can  not  escape  our  arrows." 

There  was  no  means  of  deciding  positively 
between  these  contradictory  interpretations,  but 
it  soon  became  evident  that  the  former  of  the 
two  was  very  far  from  being  correct ;  for,  soon 
after  the  present  was  received,  the  Scythians 
were  seen  to  be  drawing  up  their  forces  in  ar- 
ray, as  if  preparing  for  battle.  The  two  months 
had  expired,  and  they  had  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  party  at  the  bridge  had  withdrawn,  as 
they  had  promised  to  do.  Darius  had  been  so 
far  weakened  by  his  harassing  marches,  and 
the  manifold  privations  and  sufferings  of  his 
men,  that  he  felt  some  solicitude  in  respect  to 
the  result  of  a  battle,  now  that  it  seemed  to  be 
drawing  near,  although  such  a  trial  of  strength 
had  been  the  object  which  he  had  been,  from 
the  beginning,  most  eager  to  secure. 

The  two  armies  were  encamped  at  a  moder- 


B.C. 513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    205 

The  armies  prepare  for  battle.  Hunting  the  hare. 

ate  distance  from  each  other,  with  a  plain,  part- 
ly wooded,  between  them.  While  in  this  po- 
sition, and  before  any  hostile  action  was  com- 
menced by  either  party,  it  was  observed  from 
the  camp  of  Darius  that  suddenly  a  great  tu- 
mult arose  from  the  Scythian  lines.  Men  were 
seen  rushing  in  dense  crowds  this  way  and  that 
over  the  plain,  with  shouts  and  outcries,  which, 
however,  had  in  them  no  expression  of  anger  or 
fear,  but  rather  one  of  gayety  and  pleasure. 
Darius  demanded  what  the  strange  tumult 
meant.  Some  messengers  were  sent  out  to  as- 
certain the  cause,  and  on  their  return  they  re- 
ported that  the  Scythians  were  hunting  a  hare, 
which  had  suddenly  made  its  appearance.  The 
hare  had  issued  from  a  thicket,  and  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  army,  officers  and  soldiers, 
had  abandoned  their  ranks  to  enjoy  the  sport  of 
pursuing  it,  and  were  running  impetuously, 
here  and  there,  across  the  plain,  filling  the  air 
with  shouts  of  hilarity. 

"  They  do  indeed  despise  us,"  said  Darius, 
"since,  on  the  eve  of  a  battle, they  can  lose  all 
thoughts  of  us  and  of  their  danger,  and  abandon 
their  posts  to  hunt  a  hare  !" 

That  evening  a  council  of  war  was  held.  It 
was  concluded  that  the  Scythians  must  be  very 


206  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  513. 

The  Persians  resolve  to  retreat.  Stratagem  and  secret  flight. 

confident  and  strong  in  their  position,  and  that, 
if  a  general  battle  were  to  be  hazarded,  it  would 
be  very  doubtful  what  would  be  the  result. 
The  Persians  concluded  unanimously,  there- 
fore, that  the  wisest  plan  would  be  for  them  to 
give  up  the  intended  conquest,  and  retire  from 
the  country.  Darius  accordingly  proceeded  to 
make  his  preparations  for  a  secret  retreat. 

He  separated  all  the  infirm  and  feeble  por- 
tion of  the  army  from  the  rest,  and  informed 
them  that  he  was  going  that  night  on  a  short 
expedition  with  the  main  body  of  the  troops, 
and  that,  while  he  was  gone,  they  were  to  re- 
main and  defend  the  camp.  He  ordered  the 
men  to  build  the  camp  fires,  and  to  make  them 
larger  and  more  numerous  than  common,  and 
then  had  the  asses  tied  together  in  an  unusual 
situation,  so  that  they  should  keep  up  a  continu- 
al braying.  These  sounds,  heard  all  the  night, 
and  the  light  of  the  camp  fires,  were  to  lead  the 
Scythians  to  believe  that  the  whole  body  of  the 
Persians  remained,  as  usual,  at  the  encamp- 
ment, and  thus  to  prevent  all  suspicion  of  their 
flight. 

Toward  midnight,  Darius  marched  forth  in 
silence  and  secresy,  with  all  the  vigorous  and 
able-bodied  forces  under  his  command,  leaving 


B.C. 513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    207 

Surrender  of  the  camp.  Difficulties  of  the  retreat. 

the  weary,  the  sick,  and  the  infirm  to  the  mer- 
cy of  their  enemies.  The  long  column  suc- 
ceeded in  making  good  their  retreat,  without 
exciting  the  suspicions  of  the  Scythians.  They 
took  the  route  which  they  supposed  would  con- 
duct them  most  directly  to  the  river. 

When  the  troops  which  remained  in  the 
camp  found,  on  the  following  morning,  that 
they  had  been  deceived  and  abandoned,  they 
made  signals  to  the  Scythians  to  come  to  them, 
and,  when  they  came,  the  invalids  surrendered 
themselves  and  the  camp  to  their  possession. 
The  Scythians  then,  immediately,  leaving  a 
proper  guard  to  defend  the  camp,  set  out  to  fol- 
low the  Persian  army.  Instead,  however,  of 
keeping  directly  upon  their  track,  they  took  a 
shorter  course,  which  would  lead  them  more 
speedily  to  the  river.  The  Persians,  being  un- 
acquainted with  the  country,  got  involved  in 
fens  and  morasses,  and  other  difficulties  of  the 
way,  and  their  progress  was  thus  so  much  im- 
peded that  the  Scythians  reached  the  river  be- 
fore them. 

They  found  the  Ionians  still  there,  although 
the  two  months  had  fully  expired.  It  is  possi- 
ble that  the  chiefs  had  received  secret  orders 
from  Darius  not  to  hasten  their  departure,  even 


208  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 513. 

The  bridge  partially  destroyed.  Darius  arrives  at  the  Danube. 

after  the  knots  had  all  been  untied ;  or  perhaps 
they  chose,  of  their  own  accord,  to  await  their 
sovereign's  return.  The  Scythians  immediate- 
ly urged  them  to  be  gone.  "  The  time  has  ex- 
pired," they  said,  "  and  you  are  no  longer  un- 
der any  obligation  to  wait.  Return  to  your 
own  country,  and  assert  your  own  independ- 
ence and  freedom,  which  you  can  safely  do  if 
you  leave  Darius  and  his  armies  here." 

The  Ionians  consulted  together  on  the  sub- 
ject, doubtful,  at  first,  what  to  do.  They  con- 
cluded that  they  would  not  comply  with  the 
Scythian  proposals,  while  yet  they  determined 
to  pretend  to  comply  with  them,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  danger  of  being  attacked.  They  ac- 
cordingly began  to  take  the  bridge  to  pieces, 
commencing  on  the  Scythian  side  of  the  stream. 
The  Scythians,  seeing  the  work  thus  going  on, 
left  the  ground,  and  marched  back  to  meet  the 
Persians.  The  armies,  however,  fortunately 
for  Darius,  missed  each  other,  and  the  Persians 
arrived  safely  at  the  river,  after  the  Scythians 
had  left  it.  They  arrived  in  the  night,  and  the 
advanced  guard,  seeing  no  appearance  of  the 
bridge  on  the  Scythian  side,  supposed  that  the 
Ionians  had  gone.  They  shouted  long  and  loud 
on  the  shore,  and  at  length  an  Egyptian,  who 


B.C.  513.]  Retreat  from  Scythia.    209 

The  bridge  repaired.  The  army  returns  to  Asia. 

was  celebrated  for  the  power  of  his  voice,  suc- 
ceeded in  making  the  Ionians  hear.  The  boats 
were  immediately  brought  back  to  their  posi- 
tions, the  bridge  was  reconstructed,  and  Dari- 
us's  army  recrossed  the  stream. 

The  Danube  being  thus  safely  crossed,  the 
army  made  the  best  of  its  way  back  through 
Thrace,  and  across  the  Bosporus  into  Asia,  and 
thus  ended  Darius's  great  expedition  against 
the  Scythians. 

0 


210  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 504. 

Histiaeus  at  the  bridge  on  the  Danube.  Darius's  anxiety. 


Chapter  X. 
The  Story  of  HiSTiiEus. 

THE  nature  of  the  government  which  was 
exercised  in  ancient  times  by  a  royal  despot 
like  Darius,  and  the  character  of  the  measures 
and  management  to  which  he  was  accustomed 
to  resort  to  gam  his  political  ends,  are,  in  many 
points,  very  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  story 
of  Histiseus. 

Histiasus  was  the  Ionian  chieftain  who  had 
been  left  in  charge  of  the  bridge  of  boats  across 
the  Danube  when  Darius  made  his  incursion 
into  Scythia.  When,  on  the  failure  of  the  ex- 
pedition, Darius  returned  to  the  river,  knowing, 
as  he  did,  that  the  two  months  had  expired,  he 
naturally  felt  a  considerable  degree  of  solicitude 
lest  he  should  find  the  bridge  broken  up  and 
the  vessels  gone,  in  which  case  his  situation 
would  be  very  desperate,  hemmed  in,  as  he 
would  have  been,  between  the  Scythians  and 
the  river.  His  anxiety  was  changed  into  ter- 
ror when  his  advanced  guard  arrived  at  the 
bank  and  found  that  no  signs  of  the  bridge  were 


B.C.  504]  The  Story  of  Histijeus.  211 

Darius's  gratitude.  Scythia  abandoned. 

to  be  seen.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  what,  under 
these  circumstances,  must  have  been  the  relief 
and  joy  of  all  the  army,  when  they  heard  friend- 
ly answers  to  their  shouts,  coming,  through  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  over  the  waters  of  the 
river,  assuring  them  that  their  faithful  allies 
were  still  at  their  posts,  and  that  they  them- 
selves would  soon  be  in  safety. 

Darius,  though  he  was  governed  by  no  firm 
and  steady  principles  of  justice,  was  still  a  man 
of  many  generous  impulses.  He  was  grateful 
for  favors,  though  somewhat  capricious  in  his 
modes  of  requiting  them.  He  declared  to  His- 
tiaeus  that  he  felt  under  infinite  obligations  to 
him  for  his  persevering  fidelity,  and  that,  as  soon 
as  the  army  should  have  safely  arrived  in  Asia, 
he  would  confer  upon  him  such  rewards  as 
would  evince  the  reality  of  his  gratitude. 

On  his  return  from  Scythia,  Darius  brought 
back  the  whole  of  his  army  over  the  Danube, 
thus  abandoning  entirely  the  country  of  the 
Scythians ;  but  he  did  not  transport  the  whole 
body  across  the  Bosporus.  He  left  a  considera- 
ble detachment  of  troops,  under  the  command 
of  one  of  his  generals,  named  Megabyzus,  in 
Thrace,  on  the  European  side,  ordering  Mega- 
byzus to  establish  himself  there,  and  to  reduce 


212  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 504. 

Darius  sends  for  Ilistisus.  Petition  of  Histissus. 

all  the  countries  in  that  neighborhood  to  his 
sway.  Darius  then  proceeded  to  Sardis,  which 
was  the  most  powerful  and  wealthy  of  his  cap- 
itals in  that  quarter  of  the  world.  At  Sardis, 
he  was,  as  it  were,  at  home  again,  and  he  ac- 
cordingly took  an  early  opportunity  to  send  for 
Histiseus,  as  well  as  some  others  who  had  ren- 
dered him  special  services  in  his  late  campaign, 
in  order  that  he  might  agree  with  them  in  re- 
spect to  their  reward.  He  asked  Histiseus 
what  favor  he  wished  to  receive. 

Histiseus  replied  that  he  was  satisfied,  on  the 
whole,  with  the  position  which  he  already  en- 
joyed, which  was  that  of  king  or  governor  of 
Miletus,  an  Ionian  city,  south  of  Sardis,  and  on 
the  shores  of  the  iEgean  Sea.*  He  should  he 
pleased,  however,  he  said,  if  the  king  would  as- 
sign him  a  certain  small  territory  in  Thrace,  or, 
rather,  on  the  borders  between  Thrace  and 
Macedonia,  near  the  mouth  of  the  River  Stry- 
mon.  He  wished  to  build  a  city  there.  The 
king  immediately  granted  this  request,  which 
was  obviously  very  moderate  and  reasonable. 
He  did  not,  perhaps,  consider  that  this  territo- 
ry, being  in  Thrace,  or  in  its  immediate  vi- 

*  For  these  places,  see  the  map  at  the  commencement  of 
the  next  chapter. 


B.C.504.]  The  Story  of  Histijeus.  213 

Histiaeus  organizes  a  colony.  The  Paeonians. 

cinity,  came  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Megaby- 
zus,  whom  he  had  left  in  command  there,  and 
that  the  grant  might  lead  to  some  conflict  be- 
tween the  two  generals.  There  was  special 
danger  of  jealousy  and  disagreement  between 
them,  for  Megabyzus  was  a  Persian,  and  Histi- 
aeus was  a  Greek. 

Histiaeus  organized  a  colony,  and,  leaving  a 
temporary  and  provisional  government  at  Mile- 
tus, he  proceeded  along  the  shores  of  the  ^3ge- 
an  Sea  to  the  spot  assigned  him,  and  began  to 
build  his  city.  As  the  locality  was  beyond  the 
Thracian  frontier,  and  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance from  the  head-quarters  of  Megabyzus,  it 
is  very  probable  that  the  operations  of  Histiaeus 
would  not  have  attracted  the  Persian  general's 
attention  for  a  considerable  time,  had  it  not 
been  for  a  very  extraordinary  and  peculiar  train 
of  circumstances,  which  led  him  to  discover 
them.     The  circumstanoes  were  these : 

There  was  a  nation  or  tribe  called  the  Paeo- 
nians, who  inhabited  the  valley  of  the  Strymon, 
which  river  came  down  from  the  interior  of  the 
country,  and  fell  into  the  sea  near  the  place 
where  Histiaeus  was  building  his  city.  Among 
the  Paeonian  chieftains  there  were  two  who 
wished  to  obtain  the  government  of  the  coun- 


214  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  504. 

Baseness  of  the  Paeonian  chiefs.  Their  stratagem. 

try,  but  they  were  not  quite  strong  enough  to 
effect  their  object.  In  order  to  weaken  the 
force  which  was  opposed  to  them,  they  conceiv- 
ed the  base  design  of  betraying  their  tribe  to 
Darius,  and  inducing  him  to  make  them  cap- 
tives. If  their  plan  should  succeed,  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  population  would  be  taken 
away,  and  they  could  easily,  they  supposed,  ob- 
tain ascendency  over  the  rest.  In  order  to  call 
the  attention  of  Darius  to  the  subject,  and  in- 
duce him  to  act  as  they  desired,  they  resorted 
to  the  following  stratagem.  Their  object  seems 
to  have  been  to  lead  Darius  to  undertake  a 
campaign  against  their  countrymen,  by  show- 
ing him  what  excellent  and  valuable  slaves  they 
would  make. 

These  two  chieftains  were  brothers,  and  they 
had  a  very  beautiful  sister ;  her  form  was  grace- 
ful and  elegant,  and  her  countenance  lovely. 
They  brought  this  sister  with  them  to  Sardis 
when  Darius  was  there.  They  dressed  and  dec- 
orated her  in  a  very  careful  manner,  but  yet  in 
a  style  appropriate  to  the  condition  of  a  servant ; 
and  then,  one  day,  when  the  king  was  sitting  in 
some  public  place  in  the  city,  as  was  customary 
with  Oriental  sovereigns,  they  sent  her  to  pass 
along  the  street  before  him,  equipped  in  such  a 


B.C.504.]  The  Story  of  Histi^eus.   215 

The  Paeonian  maiden.  Multiplicity  of  her  avocations. 

manner  as  to  show  that  she  was  engaged  in 
servile  occupations.  She  had  a  jar,  such  as 
was  then  used  for  carrying  water,  poised  upon 
her  head,  and  she  was  leading  a  horse  by  means 
of  a  bridle  hung  over  her  arm.  Her  hands,  be- 
ing thus  not  required  either  for  the  horse  or  for 
the  vessel,  were  employed  in  spinning,  as  she 
walked  along,  by  means  of  a  distaff  and  spindle. 

The  attention  of  Darius  was  strongly  attract- 
ed to  the  spectacle.  The  beauty  of  the  maid- 
en, the  novelty  and  strangeness  of  her  costume, 
the  multiplicity  of  her  avocations,  and  the  ease 
and  grace  with  which  she  performed  them,  all 
conspired  to  awaken  the  monarch's  curiosity. 
He  directed  one  of  his  attendants  to  follow  her 
and  see  where  she  should  go.  The  attendant 
did  so.  The  girl  went  to  the  river.  She  wa- 
tered her  horse,  filled  her  jar  and  placed  it  on 
her  head,  and  then,  hanging  the  bridle  on  her 
arm  again,  she  returned  through  the  same 
streets,  and  passed  the  king's  palace  as  before, 
spinning  as  she  walked  along. 

The  interest  and  curiosity  of  the  king  was 
excited  more  than  ever  by  the  reappearance  of 
the  girl  and  by  the  report  of  his  messenger. 
He  directed  that  she  should  be  stopped  and 
brought  into  his  presence.     She  came ;  and  her 


216  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 504. 

Darius  and  the  maiden.      He  determines  to  make  the  Paeonians  slaves. 

"brothers,  who  had  been  watching  the  whole 
scene  from  a  convenient  spot  near  at  hand, 
joined  her  and  came  too.  The  king  asked  them 
who  they  were.  They  replied  that  they  were 
Paeonians.  He  wished  to  know  where  they 
lived.  "  On  the  hanks  of  the  River  Strymon," 
they  replied,  "near  the  confines  of  Thrace." 
He  next  asked  whether  all  the  women  of  their 
country  were  accustomed  to  labor,  and  were  as 
ingenious,  and  dexterous,  and  beautiful  as  their 
sister.     The  brothers  replied  that  they  were. 

Darius  immediately  determined  to  make  the 
whole  people  slaves.  He  accordingly  dispatch- 
ed a  courier  with  the  orders.  The  courier  cross- 
ed the  Hellespont,  and  proceeded  to  the  en- 
campment of  Megabyzus  in  Thrace.  He  de- 
livered his  dispatches  to  the  Persian  general, 
commanding  him  to  proceed  immediately  -  to 
Paeonia,  and  there  to  take  the  whole  commu- 
nity prisoners,  and  bring  them  to  Darius  in 
Sardis.  Megabyzus,  until  this  time,  had  known 
nothing  of  the  people  whom  he  was  thus  com- 
manded to  seize.  He,  however,  found  some 
Thracian  guides  who  undertook  to  conduct  him 
to  their  territory  ;  and  then,  taking  with  him  a 
sufficient  force,  he  set  out  on  the  expedition. 
The  Paeonians  heard  of  his  approach.     Some 


B.C.504.]The  Story  of  Histi^us.  217 

Capture  of  the  Paeonians.  Megabyzus  discovers  Histiaeus's  city. 

prepared  to  defend  themselves  ;  others  fled  to 
the  mountains.  The  fugitives  escaped,  hut 
those  who  attempted  to  resist  were  taken. 
Megabyzus  collected  the  unfortunate  captives, 
together  with  their  wives  and  children,  and 
brought  them  down  to  the  coast  to  embark  them 
for  Sardis.  In  doing  this,  he  had  occasion  to 
pass  by  the  spot  where  Histiaeus  was  building 
his  city,  and  it  was  then,  for  the  first  time,  that 
Megabyzus  became  acquainted  with  the  plan. 
Histiaeus  was  buildinsr  a  wall  to  defend  his  lit- 

o 

tie  territory  on  the  side  of  the  land.  Ships  and 
galleys  were  going  and  coming  on  the  side  of 
the  sea.  Every  thing  indicated  that  the  work 
was  rapidly  and  prosperously  advancing. 

Megabyzus  did  not  interfere  with  the  work ; 
but,  as  soon  as  he  arrived  at  Sardis  with  his 
captives,  and  had  delivered  them  to  the  king, 
he  introduced  the  subject  of  Histiaeus's  city, 
and  represented  to  Darius  that  it  would  be  dan- 
gerous to  the  Persian  interests  to  allow  such  an 
enterprise  to  go  on.  "  He  will  establish  a  strong 
post  there,"  said  Megabyzus,  "  by  means  of 
which  he  will  exercise  a  great  ascendency  over 
all  the  neighboring  seas.  The  place  is  admi- 
rably situated  for  a  naval  station,  as  the  coun- 
try in  the  vicinity  abounds  with  all  the  mate- 


218  Darius  the  (treat.   [B.C.  504. 

HistisEus  sent  for.  Darius  revokes  his  gift. 

rials  for  building  and  equipping  ships.  There 
are  also  mines  of  silver  in  the  mountains  near, 
from  which  he  will  obtain  a  great  supply  of 
treasure.  By  these  means  he  will  become  so 
strong  in  a  short  period  of  time,  that,  after  you 
have  returned  to  Asia,  he  will  revolt  from  your 
authority,  carrying  with  him,  perhaps,  in  his 
rebellion,  all  the  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor." 

The  king  said  that  he  was  sorry  that  he  had 
made  the  grant,  and  that  he  would  revoke  it 
without  delay. 

Megabyzus  recommended  that  the  king  should 
not  do  this  in  an  open  or  violent  manner,  but 
that  he  should  contrive  some  way  to  arrest  the 
progress  of  the  undertaking  without  any  appear- 
ance of  suspicion  or  displeasure. 

Darius  accordingly  sent  for  Histiaeus  to  come 
to  him  at  Sardis,  saying  that  there  was  a  serv- 
ice of  great  importance  on  which  he  wished  to 
employ  him.  Histiseus,  of  course,  obeyed  such 
a  summons  with  eager  alacrity.  "When  he  ar- 
rived, Darius  expressed  great  pleasure  at  seeing 
him  once  more,  and  said  that  he  had  constant 
need  of  his  presence  and  his  counsels.  He  val- 
ued, above  all  price,  the  services  of  so  faithful 
a  friend,  and  so  sagacious  and  trusty  an  advis- 
er.    He  was  now,  he  said,  going  to  Susa,  and 


B.C.504.]  The  Story  of  Histi^us.  219 

Histiueus  goes  to  Susa.  Artaphernes. 

he  wished  Histiaeus  to  accompany  him  as  his 
privy  counselor  and  confidential  friend.  ft 
would  be  necessary,  Darius  added,  that  he 
should  give  up  his  government  of  Miletus,  and 
also  the  city  in  Thrace  which  he  had  begun  to 
build  ;  but  he  should  be  exalted  to  higher  hon- 
ors and  dignities  at  Susa  in  their  stead.  He 
should  have  apartments  in  the  king's  palace, 
and  live  in  great  luxury  and  splendor. 

Histiaeus  was  extremely  disappointed  and 
chagrined  at  this  announcement.  He  was  oblig- 
ed, however,  to  conceal  his  vexation  and  submit 
to  his  fate.  In  a  few  days  after  this,  he  set 
out,  with  the  rest  of  Darius's  court,  for  the  Per- 
sian capital,  leaving  a  nephew,  whose  name  was 
Aristagoras,  as  governor  of  Miletus  in  his  stead. 
Darius,  on  the  other  hand,  committed  the  gen- 
eral charge  of  the  whole  coast  of  Asia  Minor  to 
Artaphernes,  one  of  his  generals.  Artaphernes 
was  to  make  Sardis  his  capital.  He  had  not 
only  the  general  command  of  all  the  provinces 
extending  along  the  shore,  but  also  of  all  the 
ships,  and  galleys,  and  other  naval  armaments 
which  belonged  to  Darius  on  the  neighboring 
seas.  Aristagoras,  as  governor  of  Miletus,  was 
under  his  general  jurisdiction.  The  two  offi- 
cers were,  moreover,   excellent  friends.     Aris- 


220  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.504. 

Island  of  Naxos.  Civil  war  there. 

tagoras  was,  of  course,  a  Greek,  and  Artapher- 
nes  a  Persian. 

Among  the  Greek  islands  situated  in  the 
iEgean  Sea,  one  of  the  most  wealthy,  import- 
ant, and  powerful  at  that  time,  was  Naxos.  It 
was  situated  in  the  southern  part  of  the  sea, 
and  about  midway  between  the  shores  of  Asia 
Minor  and  Greece.  It  happened  that,  soon  after 
Darius  had  returned  from  Asia  Minor  to  Persia, 
a  civil  war  broke  out  in  that  island,  in  which 
the  common  people  were  on  one  side  and  the 
nobles  on  the  other.  The  nobles  were  overcome 
in  the  contest,  and  fled  from  the  island.  A 
party  of  them  landed  at  Miletus,  and  called 
upon  Aristagoras  to  aid  them  in  regaining  pos- 
session of  the  island. 

Aristagoras  replied  that  he  would  very  glad- 
ly do  it  if  he  had  the  power,  but  that  the  Per- 
sian forces  on  the  whole  coast,  both  naval  and 
military,  were  under  the  command  of  Artapher- 
nes  at  Sardis.  He  said,  however,  that  he  was 
on  very  friendly  terms  with  Artaphernes,  and 
that  he  would,  if  the  Naxians  desired  it,  apply 
to  him  for  his  aid.  The  Naxians  seemed  very 
grateful  for  the  interest  which  Aristagoras  took 
in  their  cause,  and  said  that  they  would  com- 
mit the  whole  affair  to  his  charge. 


B.C.  504.]  The  Story  of  HiSTiieus.   221 

Action  of  Aristagoras.  Co-operation  of  Artaphernes. 

There  was,  however,  much  less  occasion  for 
gratitude  than  there  seemed,  for  Aristagoras 
was  very  far  from  being  honest  and  sincere  in 
his  offers  of  aid.  He  perceived,  immediately  on 
hearing  the  fugitives'  story,  that  a  very  favor- 
able opportunity  was  opening  for  him  to  add 
Naxos,  and  perhaps  even  the  neighboring  isl- 
ands, to  his  own  government.  It  is  always  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  subjugate  a  people 
when  their  power  of  defense  and  of  resistance 
is  neutralized  by  dissensions  with  one  another. 
It  is  a  device  as  old  as  the  history  of  mankind, 
and  one  resorted  to  now  as  often  as  ever,  for 
ambitious  neighbors  to  interpose  in  behalf  of  the 
weaker  party,  in  a  civil  war  waged  in  a  coun- 
try which  they  wish  to  make  their  own,  and, 
beginning  with  a  war  against  a  part,  to  end  by 
subjugating  the  whole.  This  was  Aristago- 
ras's  plan.  He  proposed  it  to  Artaphernes,  rep- 
resenting to  him  that  a  very  favorable  occasion 
had  occurred  for  bringing  the  Greek  islands  of 
the  iEgean  Sea  under  the  Persian  dominion. 
Naxos  once  possessed,  all  the  other  islands 
around  it  would  follow,  he  said,  and  a  hundred 
ships  would  make  the  conquest  sure. 

Artaphernes  entered  very  readily  and  very 
warmly  into  the  plan.     He  said  that  he  would 


222  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  504. 

Darius  consulted.  His  approval.  Preparations. 

furnish  two  hundred  instead  of  one  hundred 
galleys.  He  thought  it  was  necessary,  how- 
ever, first  to  consult  Darius,  since  the  affair 
was  one  of  such  importance ;  and  besides,  it 
was  not  best  to  commence  the  undertaking  un- 
til the  spring.  He  would  immediately  send  a 
messenger  to  Darius  to  ascertain  his  pleasure, 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  as  he  did  not  doubt  that 
Darius  would  fully  approve  of  the  plan,  he 
would  have  all  necessary  preparations  made,  so 
that  every  thing  should  be  in  readiness  as  soon 
as  the  proper  season  for  active  operations  should 
arrive. 

Artaphernes  was  right  in  anticipating  his 
brother's  approval  of  the  design.  The  messen- 
ger returned  from  Susa  with  full  authority 
from  the  king  for  the  execution  of  the  project. 
The  ships  were  built  and  equipped,  and  every 
thing  was  made  ready  for  the  expedition.  The 
intended  destination  of  the  armament  was,  how- 
ever, kept  a  profound  secret,  as  the  invaders 
wished  to  surprise  the  people  of  Naxos  when 
off  their  guard.  Aristagoras  was  to  accompany 
the  expedition  as  its  general  leader,  while  an 
officer  named  Megabates,  appointed  by  Arta- 
phernes for  this  purpose,  was  to  take  command 
of  the  fleet  as  a  sort  of  admiral.     Thus  there 


B.C. 504.]  The  Story  of  Histleus.  223 

Sailing  of  the  expedition.  Plan  of  the  commander. 

were  two  commanders — an  arrangement  which 
almost  always,  in  such  cases,  leads  to  a  quar- 
rel. It  is  a  maxim  in  war  that  one  bad  general 
is  better  than  two  good  ones. 

The  expedition  sailed  from  Miletus ;  and,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  people  of  Naxos  from  being 
apprised  of  their  danger,  the  report  had  been  cir- 
culated that  its  destination  was  to  be  the  Helles- 
pont. Accordingly,  when  the  fleet  sailed,  it 
turned  its  course  to  the  northward,  as  if  it  were 
really  going  to  the  Hellespont.  The  plan  of  the 
commander  was  to  stop  after  proceeding  a  short 
distance,  and  then  to  seize  the  first  opportuni- 
ty afforded  by  a  wind  from  the  north  to  come 
down  suddenly  upon  Naxos,  before  the  popula- 
tion should  have  time  to  prepare  for  defense. 
Accordingly,  when  they  arrived  opposite  the 
island  of  Chios,  the  whole  fleet  came  to  anchor 
near  the  land.  The  ships  were  all  ordered  to 
be  ready,  at  a  moment's  warning,  for  setting 
sail ;  and,  thus  situated,  the  commanders  were 
waiting  for  the  wind  to  change. 

Megabates,  in  going  his  rounds  among  the 
fleet  while  things  were  in  this  condition,  found 
one  vessel  entirely  abandoned.  The  captain 
and  crew  had  all  left  it,  and  had  gone  ashore. 
They  were  not  aware,  probably,  how  urgent 


224  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.504. 

Difficulty  in  the  fleet.  Cruel  discipline. 

was  the  necessity  that  they  should  be  every 
moment  at  their  posts.  The  captain  of  this 
galley  was  a  native  of  a  small  town  called  Cny- 
dus,  and,  as  it  happened,  was  a  particular  friend 
of  Aristagoras.  His  name  was  Syclax.  Meg- 
abates,  as  the  commander  of  the  fleet,  was  very 
much  incensed  at  finding  one  of  his  subordinate 
officers  so  derelict  in  duty.  He  sent  his  guards 
in  pursuit  of  him ;  and  when  Syclax  was  brought 
to  his  ship,  Megabates  ordered  his  head  to  be 
thrust  out  through  one  of  the  small  port-holes 
intended  for  the  oars,  in  the  side  of  the  ship, 
and  then  bound  him  in  that  position — his  head 
appearing  thus  to  view,  in  the  sight  of  all  the 
fleet,  while  his  body  remained  within  the  Ves- 
sel. "  I  am  going  to  keep  him  at  his  post," 
said  Megabates,  "  and  in  such  a  way  that  ev- 
ery one  can  see  that  he  is  there." 

Aristagoras  was  much  distressed  at  seeing 
his  friend  suffering  so  severe  and  disgraceful  a 
punishment.  He  went  to  Megabates  and  re- 
quested the  release  of  the  prisoner,  giving,  at 
the  same  time,  what  he  considered  satisfactory 
reasons  for  his  having  been  absent  from  his  ves- 
sel. Megabates,  however,  was  not  satisfied, 
and  refused  to  set  Syclax  at  liberty.  Aristag- 
oras then  told  Megabates  that  he  mistook  his 


B.C.  504.]  The  Story  of  Histijsus.  225 


Dissension  between  the  commanders.  The  expedition  fails. 

position  in  supposing  that  he  was  master  of  the 
expedition,  and  could  tyrannize  over  the  men  in 
that  manner,  as  he  pleased.  "  I  will  have  you 
understand,"  said  he,  "  that  I  am  the  command- 
er in  this  campaign,  and  that  Artaphernes,  in 
making  you  the  sailing-master  of  the  fleet,  had 
no  intention  that  you  should  set  up  your  au- 
thority over  mine."  So  saying,  he  went  away 
in  a  rage,  and  released  Syclax  from  his  durance 
with  his  own  hands. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  Megahates  to  he  en- 
raged. He  determined  to  defeat  the  expedition. 
He  sent  immediately  a  secret  messenger  to 
warn  the  Naxians  of  their  enemies'  approach. 
The  Naxians  immediately  made  effectual  prep- 
arations to  defend  themselves.  The  end  of  it 
was,  that  when  the  fleet  arrived,  the  island  was 
prepared  to  receive  it,  and  nothing  could  he 
done.  Aristagoras  continued  the  siege  four 
months  ;  hut  inasmuch  as,  during  all  this  time, 
Megahates  did  every  thing  in  his  power  to  cir- 
cumvent and  thwart  every  plan  that  Aristago- 
ras formed,  nothing  was  accomplished.  Final- 
ly, the  expedition  was  broken  up,  and  Aristago- 
ras returned  home,  disappointed  and  chagrined, 
all  his  hopes  blasted,  and  his  own  private  finan- 
ces thrown  into  confusion  by  the  great  pecuniary 
P 


226  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  504. 

Chagrin  of  Aristagoras.  He  resolves  to  revolt. 

losses  which  he  himself  had  sustained.  He  had 
contributed  very  largely,  from  his  own  private 
funds,  in  fitting  out  the  expedition,  fully  confi- 
dent of  success,  and  of  ample  reimbursement 
for  his  expenses  as  the  consequence  of  it. 

He  was  angry  with  himself,  and  angry  with 
Megabates,  and  angry  with  Artaphernes.  He 
presumed,  too,  that  Megabates  would  denounce 
him  to  Artaphernes,  and,  through  him,  to  Dari- 
us, as  the  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  expedition. 
A  sudden  order  might  come  at  any  moment, 
directing  that  he  should  be  beheaded.  He  be- 
gan to  consider  the  expediency  of  revolting  from 
the  Persian  power,  and  making  common  cause 
with  the  Greeks  against  Darius.  The  danger 
of  such  a  step  was  scarcely  less  than  that  of  re- 
maining as  he  was.  "While  he  was  pondering 
these  momentous  questions  in  his  mind,  he  was 
led  suddenly  to  a  decision  by  a  very  singular 
circumstance,  the  proper  explaining  of  which 
requires  the  story  to  return,  for  a  time,  to  His- 
tiseus  at  Susa. 

Histiseus  was  very  ill  at  ease  in  the  posses- 
sion of  his  forced  elevation  and  grandeur  at 
Susa.  He  enjoyed  great  distinction  there,  it  is 
true,  and  a  life  of  ease  and  luxury,  but  he  wish- 
ed for  independence  and  authority.     He  was, 


B.C. 504.]  The  Story  of  Histi^us.   227 

Position  of  Ilistiscus.  His  uneasiness. 

accordingly,  very  desirous  to  get  back  to  his 
former  sphere  of  activity  and  power  in  Asia 
Minor.  After  revolving  in  his  mind  the  various 
plans  which  occurred  to  him  for  accomplishing 
this  purpose,  he  at  last  decided  on  inducing  Ar- 
istagoras  to  revolt  in  Ionia,  and  then  attempt- 
ing to  persuade  Darius  to  send  him  on  to  quell 
the  revolt.  "When  once  in  Asia  Minor,  he  would 
join  the  rebellion,  and  bid  Darius  defiance. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  contrive 
some  safe  and  secret  way  to  communicate  with 
Aristagoras.  This  he  effected  in  the  following 
manner:  There  was  a  man  in  his  court  who 
was  afflicted  with  some  malady  of  the  eyes. 
HistiaBUS  told  him  that .  if  he  would  put  himself 
under  his  charge  he  could  effect  a  cure.  It 
would  be  necessary,  he  said,  that  the  man  should 
have  his  head  shaved  and  scarified;  that  is, 
punctured  with  a  sharp  instrument,  previously 
dipped  in  some  medicinal  compound.  Then, 
after  some  further  applications  should  have  been 
made,  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  patient  to 
go  to  Ionia,  in  Asia  Minor,  where  there  was  a 
physician  who  would  complete  the  cure. 

The  patient  consented  to  this  proposal.  The 
head  was  shaved,  and  Histiseus,  while  pretend- 
ing to  scarify  it,  pricked  into  the  skin — as  sail- 


228  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 504. 

Singular  mode  of  communication.  Its  success. 

ors  tattoo  anchors  on  their  arms — by  means  of  a 
needle  and  a  species  of  ink  which  had  proba- 
bly no  great  medicinal  virtue,  the  words  of  a 
letter  to  Aristagoras,  in  which  he  communica- 
ted to  him  fully,  though  very  concisely,  the 
particulars  of  his  plan.  He  urged  Aristagoras 
to  revolt,  and  promised  that,  if  he  would  do  so, 
he  would  come  on,  himself,  as  soon  as  possible, 
and,  under  pretense  of  marching  to  suppress  the 
rebellion,  he  would  really  join  and  aid  it. 

As  soon  as  he  had  finished  pricking  this  trea- 
sonable communication  into  the  patient's  skin, 
he  carefully  enveloped  the  head  in  bandages, 
which,  he  said,  must  on  no  account  be  disturb- 
ed. He  kept  the  man  shut  up,  besides,  in  the 
palace,  until  the  hair  had  grown,  so  as  effect- 
ually to  conceal  the  writing,  and  then  sent  him 
to  Ionia  to  have  the  cure  perfected.  On  his  ar- 
rival at  Ionia  he  was  to  find  Aristagoras,  who 
would  do  what  further  was  necessary.  Histi- 
seus  contrived,  in  the  mean  time,  to  send  word 
to  Aristagoras  by  another  messenger,  that,  as 
soon  as  such  a  patient  should  present  himself, 
Aristagoras  was  to  shave  his  head.  He  did  so, 
and  the  communication  appeared.  "We  must 
suppose  that  the  operations  on  the  part  of  Aris- 
tagoras for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  cure 


B.C. 504.]  The  Story  of  Histijeus.  229 

Revolt  of  Aristagoras.  Feigned  indignation  of  Ilistiieus. 

consisted,  probably,  in  pricking  in  more  ink,  so 
as  to  confuse  and  obliterate  the  writing. 

Aristagoras  was  on  the  eve  of  throwing  off 
the  Persian  authority  when  he  received  this 
communication.  It  at  once  decided  him  to  pro- 
ceed. He  organized  his  forces  and  commenced 
his  revolt.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  this  rebellion 
reached  Susa,  Histiaeus  feigned  great  indigna- 
tion, and  earnestly  entreated  Darius  to  commis- 
sion him  to  go  and  suppress  it.  He  was  confi- 
dent, he  said,  that  he  could  do  it  in  a  very  prompt 
and  effectual  manner.  Darius  was  at  first  in- 
clined to  suspect  that  Histiaeus  was  in  some 
way  or  other  implicated  in  the  movement ;  but 
these  suspicions  were  removed  by  the  protesta- 
tions which  Histiaeus  made,  and  at  length  he 
gave  him  leave  to  proceed  to  Miletus,  command- 
ing him,  however,  to  return  to  Susa  again  as 
soon  as  he  should  have  suppressed  the  revolt. 

"When  Histiaeus  arrived  in  Ionia  he  joined 
Aristagoras,  and  the  two  generals,  leaguing 
with  them  various  princes  and  states  of  Greece, 
organized  a  very  extended  and  dangerous  rebel- 
lion, which  it  gave  the  troops  of  Darius  infinite 
trouble  to  subdue.  AVe  can  not  here  give  an 
account  of  the  incidents  and  particulars  of  this 
war.     For   a  time   the   rebels  prospered,  and 


230  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C. 504. 

The  Ionian  rebellion.  Its  failure.  Death  of  IIistia?us. 

their  cause  seemed  likely  to  succeed ;  but  at 
length  the  tide  turned  against  them.  Then- 
towns  were  captured,  their  ships  were  taken 
and  destroyed,  their  armies  cut  to  pieces.  His- 
tiaeus  retreated  from  place  to  place,  a  wretched 
fugitive,  growing  more  and  more  distressed  and 
destitute  every  day.  At  length,  as  he  was  fly- 
ing from  a  battle  field,  he  arrested  the  arm  of 
a  Persian,  who  was  pursuing  him  with  his 
weapon  upraised,  by  crying  out  that  he  was 
Histiaeus  the  Milesian.  The  Persian,  hearing 
this,  spared  his  life,  but  took  him  prisoner,  and 
delivered  him  to  Artaphernes.  Histiseus  beg- 
ged very  earnestly  that  Artaphernes  would  send 
him  to  Darius  alive,  in  hopes  that  Darius  would 
pardon  him  in  consideration  of  his  former  serv- 
ices at  the  bridge  of  the  Danube.  This  was, 
however,  exactly  what  Artaphernes  wished  to 
prevent ;  so  he  crucified  the  wretched  Histiseus 
at  Sardis,  and  then  packed  his  head  in  salt  and 
sent  it  to  Darius. 


B.C. 512.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  233 

Great  battles.  Progress  of  the  Persian  empire. 


Chapter  XL 

The  Invasion  of  Greece  and  the 
Battle  of  Marathon. 

IN  the  history  of  a  great  military  conquer- 
or, there  seems  to  be  often  some  one  great 
battle  which  in  importance  and  renown  eclips- 
es all  the  rest.  In  the  case  of  Hannibal  it  was 
the  battle  of  Cannae,  in  that  of  Alexander  the 
battle  of  Arbela.  Caesar's  great  conflict  was  at 
Pharsalia,  Napoleon's  at  Waterloo.  Marathon 
was,  in  some  respects,  Darius's  Waterloo.  The 
place  is  a  beautiful  plain,  about  twelve  miles 
north  of  the  great  city  of  Athens.  The  battle 
was  the  great  final  contest  between  Darius  and 
the  Greeks,  which,  both  on  account  of  the  aw- 
ful magnitude  of  the  conflict,  and  the  very  ex- 
traordinary circumstances  which  attended  it, 
has  always  been  greatly  celebrated  among  man- 
kind. 

The  whole  progress  of  the  Persian  empire, 
from  the  time  of  the  first  accession  of  Cyrus  to 
the  throne,  was  toward  the  westward,  till  it 
reached  the  confines  of  Asia  on  the  shores  of 
the  iEgean  Sea.     All  the  shores  and  islands  of 


234  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  512. 

Condition  of  the  Persian  empire.  Plans  of  Darius. 

this  sea  were  occupied  by  the  states  and  the 
cities  of  Greece.  The  population  of  the  whole 
region,  both  on  the  European  and  Asiatic  shores, 
spoke  the  same  language,  and  possessed  the 
same  vigorous,  intellectual,  and  elevated  char- 
acter. Those  on  the  Asiatic  side  had  been  con- 
quered by  Cyrus,  and  their  countries  had  been 
annexed  to  the  Persian  empire.  Darius  had 
wished  very  strongly,  at  the  commencement  of 
his  reign,  to  go  on  in  this  work  of  annexation, 
and  had  sent  his  party  of  commissioners  to  ex- 
plore the  ground,  as  is  related  in  a  preceding 
chapter.  He  had,  however,  postponed  the  ex- 
ecution of  his  plans,  in  order  first  to  conquer 
the  Scythian  countries  north  of  Greece,  think- 
ing, probably,  that  this  would  make  the  sub- 
sequent conquest  of  Greece  itself  more  easy. 
By  getting  a  firm  foothold  in  Scythia,  he  would, 
as  it  were,  turn  the  flank  of  the  Grecian  terri- 
tories, which  would  tend  to  make  his  final  de- 
scent upon  them  more  effectual  and  sure. 

This  plan,  however,  failed ;  and  yet,  on  his 
retreat  from  Scythia,  Darius  did  not  withdraw 
his  armies  wholly  from  the  European  side  of 
the  water.  He  kept  a  large  force  in  Thrace, 
and  his  generals  there  were  gradually  extend- 
ing and  strengthening  their  power,  and  prepar- 


B.C. 512.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  235 

Persian  power  in  Thrace.  Attempted  negotiation  with  Macedon. 

ing  for  still  greater  conquests.  They  attempt- 
ed to  extend  their  dominion,  sometimes  by  ne- 
gotiations, and  sometimes  by  force,  and  they 
were  successful  and  unsuccessful  by  turns, 
whichever  mode  they  employed. 

One  very  extraordinary  story  is  told  of  an  at- 
tempted negotiation  with  Macedon,  made  with 
a  view  of  bringing  that  kingdom,  if  possible, 
under  the  Persian  dominion,  without  the  neces- 
sity of  a  resort  to  force.  The  commanding  gen- 
eral of  Darius's  armies  in  Thrace,  whose  name, 
as  was  stated  in  the  last  chapter,  was  Megaby- 
zus,  sent  seven  Persian  officers  into  Macedon, 
not  exactly  to  summon  the  Macedonians,  in  a 
peremptory  manner,  to  surrender  to  the  Per- 
sians, nor,  on  the  other  hand,  to  propose  a  vol- 
untary alliance,  but  for  something  between  the 
two.  The  communication  was  to  be  in  the 
form  of  a  proposal,  and  yet  it  was  to  be  made 
in  the  domineering  and  overbearing  manner 
with  which  the  tyrannical  and  the  strong  often 
make  proposals  to  the  weak  and  defenseless. 

The  seven  Persians  went  to  Macedon,  which, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  map,  was  west  of 
Thrace,  and  to  the  northward  of  the  other  Gre- 
cian countries.  Amyntas,  the  king  of  Mace- 
don, gave  them  a  very  honorable  reception.     At 


236  Darius  the  (treat.  [B.C.512. 

The  seven  commissioners.  Their  rudeness  at  the  feast. 

length,  one  day,  at  a  feast  to  which  they  were 
invited  in  the  palace  of  Amyntas,  they  became 
somewhat  excited  with  wine,  and  asked  to  have 
the  ladies  of  the  court  brought  into  the  apart- 
ment. They  wished  "  to  see  them,"  they  said. 
Amyntas  replied  that  such  a  procedure  was 
entirely  contrary  to  the  usages  and  customs  of 
their  court ;  but  still,  as  he  stood  somewhat  in 
awe  of  his  visitors,  or,  rather,  of  the  terrible  pow- 
er which  the  delegation  represented,  and  wish- 
ed by  every  possible  means  to  avoid  provoking 
a  quarrel  with  them,  he  consented  to  comply 
with  their  request.  The  ladies  were  sent  for. 
They  came  in,  reluctant  and  blushing,  their 
minds  excited  by  mingled  feelings  of  indigna- 
tion and  shame. 

The  Persians,  becoming  more  and  more  ex- 
cited and  imperious  under  the  increasing  influ- 
ence of  the  wine,  soon  began  to  praise  the  beau- 
ty of  these  new  guests  in  a  coarse  and  free 
manner,  which  overwhelmed  the  ladies  with 
confusion,  and  then  to  accost  them  familiarly 
and  rudely,  and  to  behave  toward  them,  in  oth- 
er respects,  with  so  much  impropriety  as  to 
produce  great  alarm  and  indignation  among  all 
the  king's  household.  The  king  himself  was 
much  distressed,  but  he  was  afraid  to  act  de- 


B.C. 512.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  237 


Stratagem  of  Amyntas's  son.  The  commissioners  killed. 

cidedly.  His  son,  a  young  man  of  great  energy 
and  spirit,  approached  his  father  with  a  counte- 
nance and  manner  expressive  of  high  excite- 
ment, and  begged  him  to  retire  from  the  feast, 
and  leave  him,  the  son,  to  manage  the  affair. 
Amyntas  reluctantly  allowed  himself  to  be  per- 
suaded to  go,  giving  his  son  many  charges,  as 
he  went  away,  to  do  nothing  rashly  or  violent- 
ly. As  soon  as  the  king  was  gone,  the  prince 
made  an -excuse  for  having  the  ladies  retire  for 
a  short  time,  saying  that  they  should  soon  re- 
turn. The  prince  conducted  them  to  their 
apartment,  and  then  selecting  an  equal  number 
of  tall  and  smooth-faced  boys,  he  disguised  them 
to  represent  the  ladies,  and  gave  each  one  a 
dagger,  directing  him  to  conceal  it  beneath  his 
robe.  These  counterfeit  females  were  then  in- 
troduced to  the  assembly  in  the  place  of  those 
who  had  retired.  The  Persians  did  not  detect 
the  deception.  It  was  evening,  and,  besides, 
their  faculties  were  confused  with  the  effects  of 
the  wine.  They  approached  the  supposed  la- 
dies as  they  had  done  before,  with  rude  famili- 
arity; and  the  boys,  at  a  signal  made  by  the 
prince  when  the  Persians  were  wholly  off  their 
guard,  stabbed  and  killed  every  one  of  them  on 
the  spot. 


238  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 512. 

Artifice  of  the  prince.  Darius's  anger  against  the  Athenians. 

Megabyzus  sent  an  embassador  to  inquire 
what  became  of  his  seven  messengers;  but 
the  Macedonian  prince  contrived  to  buy  this 
messenger  off  by  large  rewards,  and  to  induce 
him  to  send  back  some  false  but  plausible  sto- 
ry to  satisfy  Megabyzus.  Perhaps  Megabyzus 
would  not  have  been  so  easily  satisfied  had  it 
not  been  that  the  great  Ionian  rebellion,  un- 
der Aristagoras  and  Histiaeus,  as  described  in 
the  last  chapter,  broke  out  soon  after,  and  de- 
manded his  attention  in  another  quarter  of  the 
realm. 

The  Ionian  rebellion  postponed,  for  a  time, 
Darius's  designs  on  Greece,  but  the  effect  of  it 
was  to  make  the  invasion  more  certain  and 
more  terrible  in  the  end  \  for  Athens,  which  was 
at  that  time  one  of  the  most  important  and  pow- 
erful of  the  Grecian  cities,  took  a  part  in  that 
rebellion  against  the  Persians.  The  Athenians 
sent  forces  to  aid  those  of  Aristagoras  and  His- 
tiseus,  and,  in  the  course  of  the  war,  the  com- 
bined army  took  and  burned  the  city  of  Sardis. 
When  this  news  reached  Darius,  he  was  ex- 
cited to  a  perfect  phrensy  of  resentment  and 
indignation  against  the  Athenians  for  coming 
thus  into  his  own  dominions  to  assist  rebels, 
and  there  destroying  one  of  his  most  important 


B.C. 512.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  239 

Civil  dissensions  in  Greece.  The  tyrants. 

capitals.  He  uttered  the  most  violent  and  ter- 
rible threats  against  them,  and,  to  prevent  his 
anger  from  getting  cool  before  the  preparations 
should  be  completed  for  vindicating  it,  he  made 
an  arrangement,  it  was  said,  for  having  a  slave 
call  out  to  him  every  day  at  table,  "  Remem- 
ber the  Athenians !" 

It  was  a  circumstance  favorable  to  Darius's 
designs  against  the  states  of  Greece  that  they 
were  not  united  among  themselves.  There  was 
no  general  government  under  which  the  whole 
naval  and  military  force  of  that  country  could 
be  efficiently  combined,  so  as  to  be  directed,  in 
a  concentrated  and  energetic  form,  against  a 
common  enemy.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sev- 
eral cities  formed,  with  the  territories  adjoining 
them,  so  many  separate  states,  more  or  less 
connected,  it  is  true,  by  confederations  and  al- 
liances, but  still  virtually  independent,  and  oft- 
en hostile  to  each  other.  Then,  besides  these 
external  and  international  quarrels,  there  was 
a  great  deal  of  internal  dissension.  The  mo- 
narchical and  the  democratic  principle  were  all 
the  time  struggling  for  the  mastery.  Military 
despots  were  continually  rising  to  power  in  the 
.various  cities,  and  after  they  had  ruled,  for  a 
time,  over  their  subjects  with  a  rod  of  iron,  the 


240  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  512. 

Periander.  His  message  to  a  neighboring  potentate. 

people  would  rise  in  rebellion  and  expel  them 
from  their  thrones.  These  revolutions  were 
continually  taking  place,  attended,  often,  by  the 
strangest  and  most  romantic  incidents,  which 
evinced,  on  the  part  of  the  actors  in  them, 
that  extraordinary  combination  of  mental  sa- 
gacity and  acumen  with  childish  and  senseless 
superstition  so  characteristic  of  the  times. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  populace  often 
rebelled  against  the  power  of  these  royal  des- 
pots, for  they  seem  to  have  exercised  their  pow- 
er, when  their  interests  or  their  passions  excited 
them  to  do  it,  in  the  most  tyrannical  and  cruel 
manner.  One  of  them,  it  was  said,  a  king  of 
Corinth,  whose  name  was  Periander,  sent  a 
messenger,  on  one  occasion,  to  a  neighboring 
potentate — with  whom  he  had  gradually  come 
to  entertain  very  friendly  relations— to  inquire 
by  what  means  he  could  most  certainly  and 
permanently  secure  the  continuance  of  his  pow- 
er. The  king  thus  applied  to  gave  no  direct 
reply,  but  took  the  messenger  out  into  his  gar- 
den, talking  with  him  by  the  way  about  the 
incidents  of  his  journey,  and  other  indifferent 
topics.  He  came,  at  length,  to  a  field  where 
grain  was  growing,  and  as  he  walked  along,  he 
occupied  himself  in  cutting  off,  with  his  sword, 


B.C. 512.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  241 

Periander's  intolerable  tyranny.  His  wife  Melissa. 

every  head  of  the  grain  which  raised  itself  above 
the  level  of  the  rest.  After  a  short  time  he 
returned  to  the  house,  and  finally  dismissed  the 
messenger  without  giving  him  any  answer 
whatever  to  the  application  that  he  had  made. 
The  messenger  returned  to  Periander,  and  re- 
lated what  had  occurred.  "  I  understand  his 
meaning,"  said  Periander.  "  I  must  contrive 
some  way  to  remove  all  those  who,  by  their  tal- 
ents, their  influence,  or  their  power,  rise  above 
the  general  level  of  the  citizens."  Periander 
began  immediately  to  act  on  this  recommenda- 
tion. Whoever,  among  the  people  of  Corinth, 
distinguished  himself  above  the  rest,  was  mark- 
ed for  destruction.  Some  were  banished,  some 
were  slain,  and  some  were  deprived  of  their  in- 
fluence, and  so  reduced  to  the  ordinary  level,  by 
the  confiscation  of  their  property,  the  lives  and 
fortunes  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  state  being 
wholly  in  the  despot's  hands. 

This  same  Periander  had  a  wife  whose  name 
was  Melissa.  A  very  extraordinary  tale  is  re- 
lated respecting  her,  which,  though  mainly  fic- 
titious, had  a  foundation,  doubtless,  in  fact,  and 
illustrates  very  remarkably  the  despotic  tyran- 
ny and  the  dark  superstition  of  the  times.  Me- 
lissa died  and  was  buried ;  but  her  garments, 


242  Darius  the   Great.  [B.C.  512. 

The  ghost  of  Melissa.  A  great  sacrifice. 

for  some  reason  or  other,  were  not  burned,  as 
was  usual  in  such  cases.  Now,  among  the  oth- 
er oracles  of  Greece,  there  was  one  where  de- 
parted spirits  could  be  consulted.  It  was  called 
the  oracle  of  the  dead.  Periander,  having  oc- 
casion to  consult  an  oracle  in  order  to  find  the 
means  of  recovering  a  certain  article  of  value 
which  was  lost,  sent  to  this  place  to  call  up  and 
consult  the  ghost  of  Melissa.  The  ghost  ap- 
peared, but  refused  to  answer  the  question  put 
to  her,  saying,  with  frightful  solemnity, 

"  I  am  cold ;  I  am  'cold ;  I  am  naked  and 
cold.  My  clothes  were  not  burned ;  I  am  naked 
and  cold." 

When  this  answer  was  reported  to  Perian- 
der, he  determined  to  make  a  great  sacrifice 
and  offering,  such  as  should  at  once  appease  the 
restless  spirit.  He  invited,  therefore,  a  general 
assembly  of  the  women  of  Corinth  to  witness 
some  spectacle  in  a  temple,  and  when  they  were 
convened,  he  surrounded  them  with  his  guards, 
seized  them,  stripped  them  of  most  of  their 
clothing,  and  then  let  them  go  free.  The  clothes 
thus  taken  were  then  all  solemnly  burned,  as 
an  expiatory  offering,  with  invocations  to  the 
shade  of  Melissa. 

The  account  adds,  that  when  this  was  done, 


B.C.  512.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  243 

The  reason  of  Pcriander's  rudeness  to  the  assembly  of  females. 

a  second  messenger  was  dispatched  to  the  ora- 
cle of  the  dead,  and  the  spirit,  now  clothed  and 
comfortable  in  its  grave,  answered  the  inquiry, 
informing  Periander  where  the  lost  article  might 
be  found. 

The  rude  violence  which  Periander  resorted 
to  in  this  case  seems  not  to  have  been  dictated 
by  any  particular  desire  to  insult  or  injure  the 
women  of  Corinth,  but  was  resorted  to  simply 
as  the  easiest  and  most  convenient  way  of  ob- 
taining what  he  needed.  He  wanted  a  supply 
of  valuable  and  costly  female  apparel,  and  the 
readiest  mode  of  obtaining  it  was  to  bring  to- 
gether an  assembly  of  females  dressed  for  a  pub- 
lic occasion,  and  then  disrobe  them.  The  case 
only  shows  to  what  an  extreme  and  absolute 
supremacy  the  lofty  and  domineering  spirit  of 
ancient  despotism  attained. 

It  ought,  however,  to  be  related,  in  justice  to 
these  abominable  tyrants,  that  they  often  evinc- 
ed feelings  of  commiseration  and  kindness ; 
sometimes,  in  fact,  in  very  singular  ways. 
There  was,  for  example,  hi  one  of  the  cities,  a 
certain  family  that  had  obtained  the  ascenden- 
cy over  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  had  held  it 
for  some  time  as  an  established  aristocracy, 
taking  care  to  preserve  their  rank  and  power 


244  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 512. 

Labda  the  cripple.  Prediction  in  respect  to  her  progeny. 

from  generation  to  generation,  by  intermarry- 
ing only  with  one  another.  At  length,  in  one 
branch  of  the  family,  there  grew  up  a  young 
girl  named  Labda,  who  had  been  a  cripple  from 
her  birth,  and,  on  account  of  her  deformity,  none 
of  the  nobles  would  marry  her.  A  man  of  ob- 
scure birth,  however,  one  of  the  common  peo- 
ple, at  length  took  her  for  his  wife.  His  name 
was  Eetion.  One  day,  Eetion  went  to  Delphi 
to  consult  an  oracle,  and  as  he  was  entering  the 
temple,  the  Pythian*  called  out  to  him,  saying 
that  a  stone  should  proceed  from  Labda  which 
should  overwhelm  tyrants  and  usurpers,  and 
free  the  state.  The  nobles,  when  they  heard 
of  this,  understood  the  prediction  to  mean  that 
the  destruction  of  their  power  was,  in  some 
way  or  other,  to  be  effected  by  means  of  Lab- 
da's  child,  and  they  determined  to  prevent  the 
fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  by  destroying  the 
babe  itself  so  soon  as  it  should  be  born. 

They  accordingly  appointed  ten  of  their  num- 
ber to  go  to  the  place  where  Eetion  lived  and 
kill  the  child.  The  method  which  they  were 
to  adopt  was  this :  They  were  to  ask  to  see  the 
infant  on  their  arrival  at  the  house,  and  then  it 

*  For  a  full  account  of  these  oracles,  see  the  history  of  Cy- 
rus the  Great. 


B.C. 512.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  245 

Conspiracy  to  destroy  Labda's  child.  Its  failure. 

was  agreed  that  whichever  of  the  ten  it  was  to 
whom  the  babe  was  handed,  he  should  dash  it 
down  upon  the  stone  floor  with  all  his  force,  by 
which  means  it  would,  as  they  supposed,  cer- 
tainly be  killed. 

This  plan  being  arranged,  the  men  went  to 
the  house,  inquired,  with  hypocritical  civility, 
after  the  health  of  the  mother,  and  desired  to 
see  the  child.  It  was  accordingly  brought  to 
them.  The  mother  put  it  into  the  hands  of  one 
of  the  conspirators,  and  the  babe  looked  up  into 
his  face  and  smiled.  This  mute  expression  of 
defenseless  and  confiding  innocence  touched  the 
murderer's  heart.  He  could  not  be  such  a  mon- 
ster as  to  dash  such  an  ima^e  of  trusting  and 
happy  helplessness  upon  the  stones.  He  looked 
upon  the  child,  and  then  gave  it  into  the  hands 
of  the  one  next  to  him,  and  he  gave  it  to  the 
next,  and  thus  it  passed  through  the  hands  of 
all  the  ten.  No  one  was  found  stern  and  de- 
termined enough  to  murder  it,  and  at  last  they 
gave  the  babe  back  to  its  mother  and  went 
away. 

The  sequel  of  this  story  was,  that  the  con- 
spirators, when  they  reached  the  gate,  stopped 
to  consult  together,  and  after  many  mutual 
criminations  and  recriminations,  each  impugn- 


246  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  512. 

The  child  secreted.  Fulfillment  of  the  oracle. 

ing  the  courage  and  resolution  of  the  rest,  and 
all  joining  in  special  condemnation  of  the  man 
to  whom  the  child  had  at  first  been  given,  they 
went  back  again,  determined,  in  some  way  or 
other,  to  accomplish  their  purpose.  But  Labda 
had,  in  the  mean  time,  been  alarmed  at  their 
extraordinary  behavior,  and  had  listened,  when 
they  stopped  at  the  gate,  to  hear  their  conver- 
sation. She  hastily  hid  the  babe  in  a  corn 
measure  ;  and  the  conspirators,  after  looking  in 
every  part  of  the  house  in  vain,  gave  up  the 
search,  supposing  that  their  intended  victim  had 
been  hastily  sent  away.  They  went  home,  and 
not  being  willing  to  acknowledge  that  their  res- 
olution had  failed  at  the  time  of  trial,  they 
agreed  to  say  that  their  undertaking  had  suc- 
ceeded, and  that  the  child  had  been  destroyed. 
The  babe  lived,  however,  and  grew  up  to  man- 
hood, and  then,  in  fulfillment  of  the  prediction 
announced  by  the  oracle,  he  headed  a  rebellion 
against  the  nobles,  deposed  them  from  their 
power,  and  reigned  in  their  stead. 

One  of  the  worst  and  most  reckless  of  the, 
Greek  tyrants  of  whom  we  have  been  speaking 
was  Hippias  of  Athens.  His  father,  Pisistra- 
tus,  had  been  hated  all  his  life  for  his  cruelties 
and  his  crimes  ;  and  when  he  died,  leaving  two 


B.C. 512.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  247 

Hippias  of  Athens.  His  barbarous  cruelty. 

sons,  Hippias  and  Hipparchus,  a  conspiracy- 
was  formed  to  kill  the  sons,  and  thus  put  an 
end  to  the  dynasty.  Hipparchus  was  killed, 
but  Hippias  escaped  the  danger,  and  seized  the 
government  himself  alone.  He  began  to  exer- 
cise his  power  in  the  most  cruel  and  wanton 
manner,  partly  under  the  influence  of  resent- 
ment and  passion,  and  partly  because  he  thought 
his  proper  policy  was  to  strike  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  the  people  as  a  means  of  retaining  his 
dominion.  One  of  the  conspirators  by  whom  his 
brother  had  been  slain,  accused  Hippias's  warm- 
est and  best  friends  as  his  accomplices  in  that 
deed,  in  order  to  revenge  himself  on  Hippias  by 
inducing  him  to  destroy  his  own  adherents  and 
supporters.  Hippias  fell  into  the  snare ;  he 
condemned  to  death  all  whom  the  conspirator 
accused,  and  his  reckless  soldiers  executed  his 
friends  and  foes  together.  When  any  protest- 
ed their  innocence,  he  put  them  to  the  torture 
to  make  them  confess  their  guilt.  Such  indis- 
criminate cruelty  only  had  the  effect  to  league 
the  whole  population  of  Athens  against  the  per- 
petrator of  it.  There  was  at  length  a  general 
insurrection  against  him,  and  he  was  dethroned. 
He  made  his  escape  to  Sardis,  and  there  ten- 
dered his  services  to  Artaphernes,  offering  to 


248  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 510. 

Hippias  among  the  Persians.  Wars  between  the  Grecian  states. 

conduct  the  Persian  armies  to  Greece,  and  aid 
them  in  getting  possession  of  the  country,  on 
condition  that,  if  they  succeeded,  the  Persians 
would  make  him  the  governor  of  Athens.  Ar- 
taphernes  made  known  these  offers  to  Darius, 
and  they  were  eagerly  accepted.  It  was,  how- 
ever, very  impolitic  to  accept  them.  The  aid 
which  the  invaders  could  derive  from  the  serv- 
ices of  such  a  guide,  were  far  more  than  coun- 
terbalanced by  the  influence  which  his  defec- 
tion and  the  espousal  of  his  cause  by  the  Per- 
sians would  produce  in  Greece.  It  handed  the 
Athenians  and  their  allies  together  in  the  most 
enthusiastic  and  determined  spirit  of  resistance, 
against  a  man  wrho  had  now  added  the  baseness 
of  treason  to  the  wanton  wickedness  of  tyranny. 
Besides  these  internal  dissensions  between 
the  people  of  the  several  Grecian  states  and 
their  kings,  there  wrere  contests  between  one 
state  and  another,  which  Darius  proposed  to 
take  advantage  of  in  his  attempts  to  conquer 
the  country.  There  wras  one  such  war  in  par- 
ticular, between  Athens  and  the  island  of  iEgi- 
im,  on  the  effects  of  wThich,  in  aiding  him  in  his 
operations  against  the  Athenians,  Darius  placed 
great  reliance.  ^Egina  w7as  a  large  and  popu- 
lous island  not  far  from  Athens.     In  account- 


B.C.500.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  249 

Quarrel  between  Athens  and  iEgina.  The  two  wooden  statues. 

ing  for  the  origin  of  the  quarrel  between  the 
two  states,  the  (xreek  historians  relate  the  fol- 
lowing marvelous  story : 

.ZEgina,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  map,  was 
situated  in  the  middle  of  a  bay,  southwest  from 
Athens.  On  the  other  side  of  the  bay,  opposite 
from  Athens,  there  was  a  city,  near  the  shore, 
called  Epidaurus.^  It  happened  that  the  people 
of  Epidaurus  were  at  one  time  suffering  from 
famine,  and  they  sent  a  messenger  to  the  ora- 
cle at  Delphi  to  inquire  what  they  should  do  to 
obtain  relief.  The  Pythian  answered  that  they 
must  erect  two  statues  to  certain  goddesses, 
named  Damia  and  Auxesia,  and  that  then  the 
famine  would  abate.  They  asked  whether  they 
were  to  make  the  statues  of  brass  or  of  marble. 
The  priestess  replied,  "  Of  neither,  but  of  wood." 
They  were,  she  said,  to,  use  for  the  purpose  the 
wood  of  the  garden  olive. 

o 

This  species  of  olive  was  a  sacred  tree,  and. 
it  happened  that,  at  this  time,  there  were  no 
trees  of  the  kind  that  were  of  sufficient  size  for 
the  purpose  intended  except  at  Athens  ;  and 
the  Epidaurians,  accordingly,  sent  to  Athens 
to  obtain  leave  to  supply  themselves  with  wood 
for  the  sculptor  by  cutting  down  one  of  the  trees 
from  the  sacred  grove.     The  Athenians  consent- 


250  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 500. 

Incursion  of  the  ^ginetans.  They  carry  off  the  statues. 

ed  to  this,  on  condition  that  the  Epidaurians 
would  offer  a  certain  yearly  sacrifice  at  two 
temples  in  Athens,  which  they  named.  This 
sacrifice,  they  seemed  to  imagine,  would  make 
good  to  the  city  whatever  of  injury  their  relig- 
ious interests  might  suffer  from  the  loss  of  the 
sacred  tree.  The  Epidaurians  agreed  to  the 
condition ;  the  tree  was  felled ;  blocks  from  it, 
of  proper  size,  were  taken  to  Epidaurus,  and 
the  statues  were  carved.  They  were  set  up  in 
the  city  with  the  usual  solemnities,  and  the 
famine  soon  after  disappeared. 

Not  many  years  after  this,  a  war,  for  some 
cause  or  other,  broke  out  between  Epidaurus 
and  iEgina.  The  people  of  zEgina  crossed  the 
water  in  a  fleet  of  galleys,  landed  at  Epidau- 
rus, and,  after  committing  various  ravages, 
they  seized  these  images,  and  bore  them  away 
in  triumph  as  trophies  of  their  victory.  They 
set  them  up  in  a  public  place  in  the  middle  of 
their  own  island,  and  instituted  games  and  spec- 
tacles around  them,  which  they  celebrated  with 
great  festivity  and  parade.  The  Epidaurians, 
having  thus  lost  their  statues,  ceased  to  make 
the  annual  offering  at  Athens  which  they  had 
stipulated  for,  in  return  for  receiving  the  woo 
from  which  the  statues  were  carved.     The  Athe- 


B.C. 500.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  251 

Attempt  to  recover  the  statues.  They  fall  upon  their  knees. 

nians  complained.  The  Epidaurians  replied 
that  they  had  continued  to  make  the  offering 
as  long  as  they  had  kept  the  statues  ;  but  that 
now,  the  statues  being  in  other  hands,  they 
were  absolved  from  the  obligation.  The  Athe- 
nians next  demanded  the  statues  themselves  of 
the  people  of  iEgina.  They  refused  to  surren- 
der them.  The  Athenians  then  invaded  the  isl- 
and, and  proceeded  to  the  spot  where  the  stat- 
ues had  been  erected.  They  had  been  set  up 
on  massive  and  heavy  pedestals.  The  Athe- 
nians attempted  to  get  them  down,  but  could 
not  separate  them  from  their  fastenings.  They 
then  changed  their  plan,  and  undertook  to  move 
the  pedestals  too,  by  dragging  them  with  ropes. 
They  were  arrested  in  this  undertaking  by  an 
earthquake,  accompanied  by  a  solemn  and  ter- 
rible sound  of  thunder,  which  warned  them  that 
they  were  provoking  the  anger  of  Heaven. 

The  statues,  too,  miraculously  fell  on  their 
knees,  and  remained  fixed  in  that  posture  ! 

The  Athenians,  terrified  at  these  portentous 
signs,  abandoned  their  undertaking  and  fled  to- 
ward the  shore.  They  were,  however,  inter- 
cepted by  the  people  of  iEgina,  and  some  allies 
whom  they  had  hastily  summoned  to  their  aid, 
and  the  whole  party  was  destroyed  except  one 
single  man.     He  escaped. 


252  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 500. 

The  Athenian  fugitive.  He  is  murdered  by  the  women. 

This  single  fugitive,  however,  met  with  a 
worse  fate  than  that  of  his  comrades.  He  went 
to  Athens,  and  there  the  wives  and  sisters  of 
the  men  who  had  been  killed  thronged  around 
him  to  hear  his  story.  They  were  incensed 
that  he  alone  had  escaped,  as  if  his  flight  had 
been  a  sort  of  betrayal  and  desertion  of  his  com- 
panions. They  fell  upon  him,  therefore,  with 
one  accord,  and  pierced  and  wounded  him  on 
all  sides  with  a  sort  of  pin,  or  clasp,  which  they 
used  as  a  fastening  for  their  dress.  They  final- 
ly killed  him. 

The  Athenian  magistrates  were  unable  to 
bring  any  of  the  perpetrators  of  this  crime  to 
conviction  and  punishment;  but  a  law  was 
made,  in  consequence  of  the  occurrence,  forbid- 
ding the  use  of  that  sort  of  fastening  for  the 
dress  to  all  the  Athenian  women  forever  after. 
The  people  of  iEgina,  on  the  other  hand,  rejoic- 
ed and  gloried  in  the  deed  of  the  Athenian  wom- 
en, and  they  made  the  clasps  which  were  worn 
upon  their  island  of  double  size,  in  honor  of  it. 

The  war,  thus  commenced  between  Athens 
and  iEgina,  went  on  for  a  long  time,  increasing 
in  bitterness  and  cruelty  as  the  injuries  in- 
creased in  number  and  magnitude  which  the 
belligerent  parties  inflicted  on  each  other. 


B.C. 491.]  Invasion  of  (jreece.  253 

The  Persian  army.  Its  commander,  Datis. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  in  Greece  when 
Darius  organized  his  great  expedition  for  the 
invasion  of  the  country.  He  assembled  an  im- 
mense armament,  though  he  did  not  go  forth 
himself  to  command  it.  He  placed  the  whole 
force  under  the  charge  of  a  Persian  general 
named  Datis.  A  considerable  part  of  the  army 
which  Datis  was  to  command  was  raised  in 
Persia ;  but  orders  had  been  sent  on  that  large 
accessions  to  the  army,  consisting  of  cavalry, 
foot  soldiers,  ships,  and  see  men,  and  every  oth- 
er species  of  military  force,  should  be  raised  in 
all  the  provinces  of  Asia  Minor,  and  be  ready 
to  join  it  at  various  places  of  rendezvous. 

Darius  commenced  his  march  at  Susa  with 
the  troops  which  had  been  collected  there,  and 
proceeded  westward  till  he  reached  the  Medi- 
terranean at  Cilicia,  which  is  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  that  sea.  Here  large  re-enforcements 
joined  him ;  and  there  was  also  assembled  at 
this  point  an  immense  fleet  of  galleys,  which 
had  been  provided  to  convey  the  troops  to  the 
Grecian  seas.  The  troops  embarked,  and  the 
fleet  advanced  along  the  southern  shores  of  Asia 
Minor  to  the  iEgean  Sea,  where  they  turned 
to  the  northward  toward  the  island  of  Samos, 
which  had  been  appointed  as  a  rendezvous.     At 


254  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 491. 

Sailing  of  the  fleet.  Various  conquests. 

Samos  they  were  joined  by  still  greater  num- 
bers coming  from  Ionia,  and  the  various  prov- 
inces and  islands  on  that  coast  that  were  al- 

• 

ready  under  the  Persian  dominion.  When  they 
were  ready  for  their  final  departure,  the  im- 
mense fleet,  probably  one  of  the  greatest  and 
most  powerful  which  had  then  ever  been  assem- 
bled, set  sail,  and  steered  their  course  to  the 
northwest,  among  the  islands  of  the  iEgean 
Sea.  As  they  moved  slowly  on,  they  stopped 
to  take  possession  of  such  islands  as  came  in 
their  way.  The  islanders,  in  some  cases,  sub- 
mitted to  them  without  a  struggle.  In  others, 
they  made  vigorous  but  perfectly  futile  attempts 
to  resist.  In  others  still,  the  terrified  inhabit- 
ants abandoned  their  homes,  and  fled  in  dismay 
to  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains.  The  Per- 
sians destroyed  the  cities  and  towns  whose  in- 
habitants they  could  not  conquer,  and  took  the 
children  from  the  most  influential  families  of 
the  islands  which  they-  did  subdue,  as  hostages 
to  hold  their  parents  to  their  promises  when 
their  conquerors  should  have  gone. 

The  mighty  fleet  advanced  thus,  by  slow  de- 
grees, from  conquest  to  conquest,  toward  the 
Athenian  shores.  The  vast  multitude  of  gal- 
leys covered  the  whole  surface  of  the  water,  and 


B.C.  490.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  257 

Landing  of  the  Persians.  State  of  Athens. 

as  they  advanced,  propelled  each  by  a  triple  row 
of  oars,  they  exhibited  to  the  fugitives  who  had 
gained  the  summits  of  the  mountains  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  immense  swarm  of  insects, 
creeping,  by  an  almost  imperceptible  advance, 
over  the  smooth  expanse  of  the  sea. 

The  fleet,  guided  all  the  time  by  Hippias, 
passed  on,  and  finally  entered  the  strait  between 
the  island  of  Eubcea  and  the  main  land  to  the 
northward  of  Athens.  Here,  after  some  oper- 
ations on  the  island,  the  Persians  finally  brought 
their  ships  into  a  port  on  the  Athenian  side,  and 
landed.  Hippias  made  all  the  arrangements, 
and  superintended  the  disembarkation. 

In  the  mean  time,  all  was  confusion  and  dis- 
may in  the  city  of  Athens.  The  government, 
as  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  approach  of  this 
terrible  danger,  had  sent  an  express  to  the  city 
of  Sparta,  asking  for  aid.  The  aid  had  been 
promised,  but  it  had  not  yet  arrived.  The 
Athenians  gathered  together  all  the  forces  at 
their  command  on  the  northern  side  of  the  city, 
and  were  debating  the  question,  with  great  anx- 
iety and  earnestness,  whether  they  should  shut 
themselves  up  within  the  walls,  and  await  the 
onset  of  their  enemies  there,  or  go  forth  to  meet 
them  on  the  way.  The  whole  force  which  the 
R 


258  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.490. 

The  Greek  army.  Miltiades  and  his  colleagues. 

Greeks  could  muster  consisted  of  but  about  ten 
thousand  men,  while  the  Persian  host  contain- 
ed over  a  hundred  thousand.  It  seemed  mad- 
ness to  engage  in  a  contest  on  an  open  field 
against  such  an  overwhelming  disparity  of  num- 
bers. A  majority  of  voices  were,  accordingly, 
in  favor  of  remaining  within  the  fortifications 
of  the  city,  and  awaiting  an  attack. 

The  command  of  the  army  had  been  intrust- 
ed, not  to  one  man,  but  to  a  commission  of 
three  generals,  a  sort  of  triumvirate,  on  whose 
joint  action  the  decision  of  such  a  question  de- 
volved. Two  of  the  three  were  in  favor  of  tak- 
ing a  defensive  position ;  but  the  third,  the  cel- 
ebrated Miltiades,  was  so  earnest  and  so  decid- 
ed in  favor  of  attacking  the  enemy  themselves, 
instead  of  waiting  to  be  attacked,  that  his  opin- 
ion finally  carried  the  day,  and  the  other  gener- 
als resigned  their  portion  of  authority  into  his 
hands,  consenting  that  he  should  lead  the  Greek 
army  into  battle,  if  he  dared  to  take  the  re- 
sponsibility of  doing  so. 

The  two  armies  were  at  this  time  encamped 
in  sight  of  each  other  on  the  plain  of  Marathon, 
between  the  mountain  and  the  sea.  They  were 
nearly  a  mile  apart.  The  countless  multitude 
of  the  Persians  extended  as  far  as  the  eye  could 


B.C. 490.]  Invasion  of  Greece.         259 

Position  of  the  armies.  Miltiades's  plan  of  attack. 

reach,  with  long  lines  of  tents  in  the  distance, 
and  thousands  of  horsemen  on  the  plain,  all 
ready  for  the  charge.  The  Greeks,  on  the  oth- 
er hand,  occupied  a  small  and  isolated  spot,  in 
a  compact  form,  without  cavalry,  without  arch- 
ers, without,  in  fact,  any  weapons  suitable  ei- 
ther for  attack  or  defense,  except  in  a  close  en- 
counter hand  to  hand.  Their  only  hope  of  suc- 
cess depended  on  the  desperate  violence  of  the 
onset  they  were  to  make  upon  the  vast  masses 
of  men  spread  out  before  them.  On  the  one 
side  were  immense  numbers,  whose  force,  vast 
as  it  was,  must  necessarily  be  more  or  less  im- 
peded in  its  operations,  and  slow.  It  was  to  be 
overpowered,  therefore,  if  overpowered  at  all,  by 
the  utmost  fierceness  and  rapidity  of  action — 
by  sudden  onsets,  unexpected  and  furious  as- 
saults, and  heavy,  vigorous,  and  rapid  blows. 
Miltiades,  therefore,  made  all  his  arrangements 
with  reference  to  that  mode  of  warfare.  Such 
soldiers  as  the  Greeks,  too,  were  admirably 
adapted  to  execute  such  designs,  and  the  im- 
mense and  heterogeneous  mass  of  Asiatic  na- 
tions which  covered  the  plain  before  them  was 
exactly  the  body  for  such  an  experiment  to  be 
made  upon.  Glorying  in  their  numbers  and 
confident  of  victory,  they  were  slowly  advanc- 


260  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 490. 

Onset  of  the  Greeks.  Rout  of  the  Persians. 

ing,  without  the  least  idea  that  the  little  band 
before  them  could  possibly  do  them  any  serious 
harm.  They  had  actually  brought  with  them, 
in  the  train  of  the  army,  some  blocks  of  mar- 
ble, with  which  they  were  going  to  erect  a  mon- 
ument of  their  victory,  on  the  field  of  battle,  as 
soon  as  the  conflict  was  over  ! 

At  length  the  Greeks  began  to  put  them- 
selves in  motion.  As  they  advanced,  they  ac- 
celerated their  march  more  and  more,  until  just 
before  reaching  the  Persian  lines,  when  they 
began  to  run.  The  astonishment  of  the  Per- 
sians at  this  unexpected  and  daring  onset  soon 
gave  place,  first  to  the  excitement  of  personal 
conflict,  and  then  to  universal  terror  and  dis- 
may ;  for  the  headlong  impetuosity  of  the 
Greeks  bore  down  all  opposition,  and  the  des- 
perate swordsmen  cut  their  way  through  the 
vast  masses  of  the  enemy  with  a  fierce  and 
desperate  fury  that  nothing  could  withstand. 
Something  like  a  contest  continued  for  some 
hours ;  but,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  the  Per- 
sians were  flying  in  all  directions,  every  one  en- 
deavoring, by  the  track  which  he  found  most 
practicable  for  himself,  to  make  his  way  to  the 
ships  on  the  shore.  Vast  multitudes  were  kill- 
ed in  this  headlong  flight ;  others  became  en- 


B.C. 490.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  261 

Results  of  the  battle.  Numbers  slain. 

tangled  in  the  morasses  and  fens,  and  others 
still  strayed  away,  and  sought,  in  their  terror, 
a  hopeless  refuge  in  the  denies  of  the  mount- 
ains. Those  who  escaped  crowded  in  confusion 
on  board  their  ships,  and  pushed  off  from  the 
shore,  leaving  the  whole  plain  covered  with 
their  dead  and  dying  companions. 

The  Greeks  captured  an  immense  amount  of 
stores  and  baggage,  which  were  of  great  cost 
and  value.  They  took  possession,  too,  of  the 
marble  blocks  which  the  Persians  had  brought 
to  immortalize  their  victory,  and  built  with 
them  a  monument,  instead,  to  commemorate 
their  defeat.  They  counted  the  dead.  Six  thou- 
sand Persians,  and  only  two  hundred  Greeks, 
were  found.  The  bodies  of  the  Greeks  were 
collected  together,  and  buried  on  the  field,  and 
an  immense  mound  was  raised  over  the  grave. 
This  moand  has  continued  to  stand  at  Mara- 
thon to  the  present  day. 

The  battle  of  Marathon  was  one  of  those 
great  events  in  the  history  of  the  human  race 
which  continue  to  attract,  from  age  to  age,  the 
admiration  of  mankind.  They  who  look  upon 
war,  in  all  its  forms,  as  only  the  perpetration  . 
of  an  unnatural  and  atrocious  crime,  which 
rises  to  dignity  and  grandeur  only  by  the  very 


262     .        Darius  the  Great.    [B.C.  490. 

The  field  of  Marathon.  The  mound. 

enormity  of  its  guilt,  can  not  but  respect  the 
courage,  the  energy,  and  the  cool  and  determ- 
ined resolution  with  which  the  little  band  of 
Greeks  went  forth  to  stop  the  torrent  of  foes 
which  all  the  nations  of  a  whole  continent  had 
combined  to  pour  upon  them.  The  field  has 
been  visited  in  every  age  by  thousands  of  trav- 
elers, who  have  upon  the  spot  offered  their  trib- 
ute of  admiration  to  the  ancient  heroes  that  tri- 
umphed there.  The  plain  is  found  now,  as  of 
old,  overlooking  the  sea,  and  the  mountains  in- 
land, towering  above  the  plain.  The  mound, 
too,  still  remains,  which  was  reared  to  conse- 
crate the  memory  of  the  Greeks  who  fell.  They 
who  visit  it  stand  and  survey  the  now  silent  and 
solitary  scene,  and  derive  from  the  influence 
and  spirit  of  the  spot  new  strength  and  energy 
to  meet  the  great  difficulties  and  dangers  of 
life  which  they  themselves  have  to  encounter. 
The  Greeks  themselves,  of  the  present  day, 
notwithstanding  the  many  sources  of  discour- 
agement and  depression  with  which  they  have 
to  contend,  must  feel  at  Marathon  some  rising 
spirit  of  emulation  in  contemplating  the  lofty 
mental  powers  and  the  undaunted  spirit  of  their 
sires.     Byron  makes  one  of  them  sing, 


B.C.490.]  Invasion  of  Greece.  263 


Song  of  the  Greek. 


The  mountains  look  on  Marathon, 
And  Marathon  looks  on  the  sea ; 

And  musing  there  an  hour  alone, 

I  dreamed  that  Greece  might  still  be  free ; 

For,  standing  on  the  Persians'  grave, 

I  could  not  deem  myself  a  slave." 


264  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C.  490. 

The  Persian  fleet  sails  southward.  Fate  of  Hippias. 


Chapter    XII. 
The  Death  of  Darius. 

THE  city  of  Athens  and  the  plain  of  Mara- 
thon are  situated  upon  a  peninsula.  The 
principal  port  by  which  the  city  was  ordinarily 
approached  was  on  the  southern  shore  of  the 
peninsula,  though  the  Persians  had  landed  on 
the  northern  side.  Of  course,  in  their  retreat 
from  the  field  of  battle,  they  fled  to  the  north. 
When  they  were  beyond  the  reach  of  their  en- 
emies and  fairly  at  sea,  they  were  at  first  some- 
what perplexed  to  determine  what  to  do.  Da- 
tis  was  extremely  unwilling  to  return  to  Darius 
with  the  news  of  such  a  defeat.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  seemed  but  little  hope  of  any  other 
result  if  he  were  to  attempt  a  second  landing. 

Hippias,  their  Greek  guide,  was  killed  in  the 
battle.  He  expected  to  be  killed,  for  his  mind, 
on  the  morning  of  the  battle,  was  in  a  state  of 
great  despondency  and  dejection.  Until  that 
time  he  had  felt  a  strong  and  confident  expec- 
tation of  success,  but  his  feelings  had  then  been 
very  suddenly  changed.     His  confidence  had 


B.C.  490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.      265 


The  dream  and  the  sneeze. 


arisen  from  the  influence  of  a  dream,  his  dejec- 
tion from  a  cause  more  frivolous  still ;  so  that 
he  was  equally  irrational  in  his  hope  and  in  his 
despair. 

The  omen  which  seemed  to  him  to  portend 
success  to  the  enterprise  in  which  he  had  un- 
dertaken to  act  as  guide,  was  merely  that  he 
dreamed  one  night  that  he  saw,  and  spent  some 
time  in  company  with,  his  mother.  In  attempt- 
ing to  interpret  this  dream  in  the  morning,  it 
seemed  to  him  that  Athens,  his  native  city,  was 
represented  hy  his  mother,  and  that  the  vision 
denoted  that  he  was  about  to  he  restored  to 
Athens  again.  He  was  extremely  elated  at 
this  supernatural  confirmation  of  his  hopes,  and 
would  have  gone  into  the  battle  certain  of  vic- 
tory, had  it  not  been  that  another  circumstance 
occurred  at  the  time  of  the  landing  to  blast  his 
hopes.  He  had,  himself,  the  general  charge  of 
the  disembarkation.  He  stationed  the  ships  at 
their  proper  places  near  the  shore,  and  formed 
the  men  upon  the  beach  as  they  landed.  While 
he  was  thus  engaged,  standing  on  the  sand,  he 
suddenly  sneezed.  He  was  an  old  man,  and 
his  teeth  —  those  that  remained — were  loose. 
One  of  them  was  thrown  out  in  the  act  of 
sneezing,  and  it  fell  into  the  sand.     Hippias  was 


266  Darius    the   Great.  [B.C. 490. 

Ilippias  falls  in  battle.  Movements  of  the  Persian  fleet. 

alarmed  at  this  occurrence,  considering  it  a  tad 
omen.  He  looked  a  long  time  for  the  tooth  in 
vain,  and  then  exclaimed  that  all  was  over. 
The  joining  of  his  tooth  to  his  mother  earth  was 
the  event  to  which  his  dream  referred,  and  there 
was  now  no  hope  of  any  further  fulfillment  of 
it.  He  went  on  mechanically,  after  this,  in 
marshaling  his  men  and  preparing  for  battle, 
but  his  mind  was  oppressed  with  gloomy  fore- 
bodings. He  acted,  in  consequence,  feebly  and 
with  indecision ;  and  when  the  Greeks  explor- 
ed the  field  on  the  morning  after  the  battle,  his 
body  was  found  among  the  other  mutilated  and 
ghastly  remains  which  covered  the  ground. 

As  the  Persian  fleet  moved,  therefore,  along 
the  coast  of  Attica,  they  had  no  longer  their 
former  guide.  They  were  still,  however,  very 
reluctant  to  leave  the  country.  They  followed 
the  shore  of  the  peninsula  until  they  came  to 
the  promontory  of  Sunium,  which  forms  the 
southeastern  extremity  of  it.  They  doubled 
this  cape,  and  then  followed  the  southern  shore 
of  the  peninsula  until  they  arrived  at  the  point 
opposite  to  Athens  on  that  side.  In  the  mean 
time,  however,  the  Spartan  troops  which  had 
been  sent  for  to  aid  the  Athenians  in  the  con- 
test, but  which  had  not  arrived  in  time  to  take 


B.C.  490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.      267 

The  Tersian  fleet  returns  to  Asia.  Anxiety  of  Datis. 

part  in  the  battle,  reached  the  ground  ;  and  the 
indications  which  the  Persians  observed,  from 
the  decks  of  their  galleys,  that  the  country  was 
thoroughly  aroused,  and  was  every  where  ready 
to  receive  them,  deterred  them  from  making 
any  further  attempts  to  land.  After  lingering, 
therefore,  a  short  time  near  the  shore,  the  fleet 
directed  its  course  again  toward  the  coasts  of 
Asia. 

The  mind  of  Datis  was  necessarily  very  ill 
at  ease.  He  dreaded  the  wrath  of  Darius  ;  for 
despots  are  very  prone  to  consider  military  fail- 
ures as  the  worst  of  crimes.  The  expedition 
had  not,  however,  been  entirely  a  failure.  Da- 
tis had  conquered  many  of  the  Greek  islands, 
and  he  had  with  him,  on  board  his  galleys,  great 
numbers  of  prisoners,  and  a  vast  amount  of' 
plunder  which  he  had  obtained  from  them. 
Still,  the  greatest  and  most  important  of  the 
objects  which  Darius  had  commissioned  him  to 
accomplish  had  been  entirely  defeated,  and  he 
;felt,  accordingly,  no  little  anxiety  in  respect  to 
the  reception  which  he  was  to  expect  at  Susa. 

One  night  he  had  a  dream  which  greatly  dis- 
turbed him.  He  awoke  in  the  morning  with 
an  impression  upon  his  mind,  which  he  had  de- 
rived from  the  dream,  that  some  temple  had 


268  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C.  490. 

Datis  finds  a  stolen  statue.  Island  of  Delos. 

been  robbed  by  his  soldiers  in  the  course  of  his 
expedition,  and  that  the  sacrilegious  booty 
which  had  been  obtained  was  concealed  some- 
where in  the  fleet.  He  immediately  ordered  a 
careful  search  to  be  instituted,  in  which  every 
ship  was  examined.  At  length  they  found,  con- 
cealed in  one  of  the  galleys,  a  golden  statue  of 
Apollo.  Datis  inquired  what  city  it  had  been 
taken  from.  They  answered  from  Delium. 
Delium  was  on  the  coast  of  Attica,  near  the 
place  where  the  Persians  had  landed,  at  the 
time  of  their  advance  on  Marathon.  Datis 
could  not  safely  or  conveniently  go  back  there 
to  restore  it  to  its  place.  He  determined,  there- 
fore, to  deposit  it  at  Delos  for  safe  keeping,  un- 
til it  could  be  returned  to  its  proper  home. 

Delos  was  a  small  but  very  celebrated  island 
near  the  center  of  the  iEgean  Sea,  and  but  a 
short  distance  from  the  spot  where  the  Persian 
fleet  was  lying  when  Datis  made  this  discovery. 
It  was  a  sacred  island,  devoted  to  religious  rites, 
and  all  contention,  and  violence,  and,  so  far  as 
was  possible,  all  suffering  and  death,  were  ex- 
cluded from  it.  The  sick  were  removed  from  it ; 
the  dead  were  not  buried  there ;  armed  ships 
and  armed  men  laid  aside  their  hostility  to  each 
other  when  they  approached  it.      Belligerent 


B.C. 490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.       269 

Account  of  the  sacred  island.  Its  present  condition. 

fleets  rode  at  anchor,  side  by  side,  in  peace, 
upon  the  smooth  waters  of  its  little  port,  and 
an  enchanting  picture  of  peace,  tranquillity, 
and  happiness  was  seen  upon  its  shores.  A  large 
natural  fountain,  or  spring,  thirty  feet  in  diam- 
eter, and  inclosed  partly  by  natural  rocks  and 
partly  by  an  artificial  wall,  issued  from  the 
ground  in  the  center  of  the  island,  and  sent 
forth  a  beautiful  and  fertilizing  rill  into  a  rich 
and  happy  valley,  through  which  it  meandered, 
deviously,  for  several  miles,  seeking  the  sea. 
There  was  a  large  and  populous  city  near  the 
port,  and  the  whole  island  was  adorned  with 
temples,  palaces,  colonnades,  and  other  splendid 
architectural  structures,  which  made  it  the  ad- 
miration of  all  mankind.  All  this  magnificence 
and  beauty  have,  however,  long  since  passed 
away.  The  island  is  now  silent,  deserted,  and 
desolate,  a  dreary  pasture,  where  cattle  browse 
and  feed,  with  stupid  indifference,  among  the 
ancient  ruins.  Nothing  living  remains  of  the 
ancient  scene  of  grandeur  and  beauty  but  the 
fountain.  That  still  continues  to  pour  up  its 
clear  and  pellucid  waters  with  a  ceaseless  and 
eternal  flow. 

It  was  to  this  Delos  that  Datis  determined 
to  restore  the   golden  statue.     He  took  it  on 


270 

D 

AR 

[US 

THE 

G-RE  AT. 

[B.C.  490. 

Dispos 

uion 

of  the  a; 

my. 

Danus's  reception  of  Datis. 

board  his  own  galley,  and  proceeded  with  it, 
himself,  to  the  sacred  island.  He  deposited  it 
in  the  great  temple  of  Apollo,  charging  the 
priests  to  convey  it,  as  soon  as  a  convenient  op- 
portunity should  occur,  to  its  proper  destination 
at  Delium. 

The  Persian  fleet,  after  this  business  was  dis- 
posed of,  set  sail  again,  and  pursued  its  course 
toward  the  coasts  of  Asia,  where  at  length  the 
expedition  landed  in  safety. 

The  various  divisions  of  the  army  were  then 
distributed  in  the  different  provinces  where  they 
respectively  belonged,  and  Datis  commenced  his 
march  with  the  Persian  portion  of  the  troops,  and 
with  his  prisoners  and  plunder,  for  Susa,  feeling, 
however,  very  uncertain  how  he  should  be  re- 
ceived on  his  arrival  there.  Despotic  power  is 
always  capricious  ;  and  the  character  of  Darius, 
which  seems  to  have  been  naturally  generous 
and  kind,  and  was  rendered  cruel  and  tyrannic- 
al only  through  the  influence  of  the  position  in 
which  he  had  been  placed,  was  continually  pre- 
senting the  most  opposite  and  contradictory 
phases.  The  generous  elements  of  it,  fortu- 
nately for  Datis,  seemed  to  be  in  the  ascenden- 
cy when  the  remnant  of  the  Persian  army  ar- 
rived at  Susa.     Darius  received  the  returning 


B.C.  490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.       271 

Subsequent  history  of  Miltiades.  His  great  popularity. 

general  without  anger,  and  even  treated  the 
prisoners  with  humanity. 

Before  finally  leaving  the  subject  of  this  cel- 
ebrated invasion,  which  was  brought  to  an  end 
in  so  remarkable  a  manner  by  the  great  battle 
of  Marathon,  it  may  be  well  to  relate  the  ex- 
traordinary circumstances  which  attended  the 
subsequent  history  of  Miltiades,  the  great  com- 
mander in  that  battle  on  the  Greek  side.  Be- 
fore the  conflict,  he  seems  to  have  had  no  offi- 
cial superiority  over  the  other  generals,  but,  by 
the  resolute  decision  with  which  he  urged  the 
plan  of  giving  the  Persians  battle,  and  the  con- 
fidence and  courage  which  he  manifested  in  ex- 
pressing his  readiness  to  take  the  responsibility 
of  the  measure,  he  placed  himself  virtually  at 
the  head  of  the  Greek  command.  The  rest  of 
the  officers  acquiesced  in  his  pre-eminence,  and, 
waiving  their  claims  to  an  equal  share  of  the 
authority,  they  allowed  him  to  go  forward  and 
direct  the  operations  of  the  day.  If  the  day 
had  been  lost,  Miltiades,  even  though  he  had 
escaped  death  upon  the  field,  would  have  been 
totally  and  irretrievably  ruined ;  but  as  it  was 
won,  the  result  of  the  transaction  was  that  he 
was  raised  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  glory  and 
renown. 


272  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 490. 

Miltiades's  influence  at  Athens.  His  ambitious  designs. 

And  yet  in  this,  as  in  all  similar  cases,  the 
question  of  success  or  of  failure  depended  upon 
causes  wholly  beyond  the  reach  of  human  fore- 
sight or  control.  The  military  commander  who 
acts  in  such  contingencies  is  compelled  to  stake 
every  thing  dear  to  him  on  results  which  are 
often  as  purely  hazardous  as  the  casting  of  a  die. 

The  influence  of  Miltiades  in  Athens  after 
the  Persian  troops  were  withdrawn  was  para- 
mount and  supreme.  Finding  himself  in  pos- 
session of  this  ascendency,  he  began  to  form 
plans  for  other  military  undertakings.  It  prov- 
ed, in  the  end,  that  it  would  have  been  far  bet- 
ter for  him  to  have  been  satisfied  with  the  fame 
which  he  had  already  acquired. 

Some  of  the  islands  in  the  iEgean  Sea  he 
considered  as  having  taken  part  with  the  Per- 
sians in  the  invasion,  to  such  an  extent,  at  least, 
as  to  furnish  him  with  a  pretext  for  making 
war  upon  them.  The  one  which  he  had  spe- 
cially in  view,  in  the  first  instance,  was  Paros. 
Paros  is  a  large  and  important  island  situated 
near  the  center  of  the  southern  portion  of  the 
iEgean  Sea.  It  is  of  an  oval  form,  and  is 
about  twelve  miles  long.  The  surface  of  the 
land  is  beautifully  diversified  and  very  pictur- 
esque, while,  at  the  same  time,  the  soil  is  very 


B.C. 490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.       273 

Island  and  city  of  Paros.  Appearance  of  the  modern  town. 

fertile.  In  the  days  of  Miltiades,  it  was  very 
wealthy  and  populous,  and  there  was  a  large 
city,  called  also  Paros,  on  the  western  coast  of 
the  island,  near  the  sea.  There  is  a  modern 
town  built  upon  the  site  of  the  former  city, 
which  presents  a  very  extraordinary  appear- 
ance, as  the  dwellings  are  formed,  in  a  great 
measure,  of  materials  obtained  from  the  ancient 
ruins.  Marble  columns,  sculptured  capitals, 
and  fragments  of  what  were  once  magnificent 
entablatures,  have  been  used  to  construct  plain 
walls,  or  laid  in  obscure  and  neglected  pave- 
ments-— all,  however,  still  retaining,  notwith- 
standing their  present  degradation,  unequivocal 
marks  of  the  nobleness  of  their  origin.  The 
quarries  where  the  ancient  Parian  marble  was 
obtained  were  situated  on  this  island,  not  very 
far  from  the  town.  They  remain  to  the  pres- 
ent day  in  the  same  state  in  which  the  ancient 
workmen  left  them. 

In  the  time  of  Miltiades  the  island  and  the 
city  of  Paros  were  both  very  wTealthy  and  very 
powerful.  Miltiades  conceived  the  design  of 
making  a  descent  upon  the  island,  and  levying 
an  immense  contribution  upon  the  people,  in  the 
form  of  a  fine,  for  what  he  considered  their  trea- 
son in  taking  part  with  the  enemies  of  their 


274  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 490. 

Miltiades's  proposition  to  the  Athenians.  They  accept  it. 

countrymen.  In  order  to  prevent  the  people  of 
Paros  from  preparing  for  defense,  Miltiades  in- 
tended to  keep  the  object  of  his  expedition  se- 
cret for  a  time.  He  therefore  simply  proposed 
to  the  Athenians  that  they  should  equip  a  fleet 
and  put  it  under  his  command.  He  had  an  en- 
terprise in  view,  he  said,  the  nature  of  which 
he  could  not  particularly  explain,  but  he  was 
very  confident  of  its  success,  and,  if  successful, 
he  should  return,  in  a  short  time,  laden  with 
spoils  which  would  enrich  the  city,  and  amply 
reimburse  the  people  for  the  expenses  they 
would  have  incurred.  The  force  which  he  ask- 
ed for  was  a  fleet  of  seventy  vessels. 

So  great  was  the  popularity  and  influence 
which  Miltiades  had  acquired  by  his  victory  at 
Marathon,  that  this  somewhat  extraordinary 
proposition  was  readily  complied  with.  The 
fleet  was  equipped,  and  crews  were  provided, 
and  the  whole  armament  was  placed  under  Mil- 
tiades's command.  The  men  themselves  who 
were  embarked  on  board  of  the  galleys  did  not 
know  whither  they  were  going.  Miltiades  prom- 
ised them  victory  and  an  abundance  of  gold  as 
their  reward  ;  for  the  rest,  they  must  trust,  he 
said,  to  him,  as  he  could  not  explain  the  actual 
destination  of  the  enterprise  without  endanger- 


B.C.  490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.       275 

Miltiades  marches  against  Paros.  Its  resistance. 

ing  its  success.     The  men  were   all  satisfied 
with  these  conditions,  and  the  fleet  set  sail. 

"When  it  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Paros,  the 
Parians  were,  of  course,  taken  by  surprise,  but 
they  made  immediate  preparations  for  a  very 
vigorous  resistance.  Miltiades  commenced  a 
siege,  and  sent  a  herald  to  the  city,  demanding 
of  them,  as  the  price  of  their  ransom,  an  im- 
mense sum  of  money,  saying,  at  the  same  time, 
that,  unless  they  delivered  up  that  sum,  or,  at 
least,  gave  security  for  the  payment  of  it,  he 
would  not  leave  the  place  until  the  city  was 
captured,  and,  when  captured,  it  should  be  whol- 
ly destroyed.  The  Parians  rejected  the  de- 
mand, and  engaged  energetically  in  the  work  of 
completing  and  strengthening  their  defenses. 
They  organized  companies  of  workmen  to  labor 
during  the  night,  when  their  operations  would 
not  be  observed,  in  building  new  walls,  and  re- 
enforcing  every  weak  or  unguarded  point  in  the 
line  of  the  fortifications.  It  soon  appeared  that 
the  Parians  were  making  far  more  rapid  prog- 
ress in  securing  their  position  than  Miltiades 
was  in  his  assaults  upon  it.  Miltiades  found 
that  an  attack  upon  a  fortified  island  in  the 
iEgean  Sea  was  a  different  thing  from  encoun- 
tering the  undisciplined  hordes  of  Persians  on 


276  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 490. 

Miltiades  is  discouraged.  The  captive  priestess. 

the  open  plains  of  Marathon.  There  it  was  a 
contest  "between  concentrated  courage  and  dis- 
cipline on  the  one  hand,  and  a  vast  expansion 
of  pomp  and  parade  on  the  other  ;  whereas  now 
he  found  that  the  courage  and  discipline  on  his 
part  were  met  by  an  equally  indomitable  reso- 
lution on  the  part  of  his  opponents,  guided,  too, 
by  an  equally  well-trained  experience  and  skill. 
In  a  word,  it  was  Greek  against  Greek  at  Pa- 
ros,  and  Miltiades  began  at  length  to  perceive 
that  his  prospect  of  success  was  growing  very 
doubtful  and  dim. 

This  state  of  things,  of  course,  filled  the  mind 
of  Miltiades  with  great  anxiety  and  distress ; 
for,  after  the  promises  which  he  had  made  to 
the  Athenians,  and  the  blind  confidence  which 
he  had  asked  of  them  in  proposing  that  they 
should  commit  the  fleet  so  unconditionally  to 
his  command,  he  could  not  return  discomfited 
to  Athens  without  involving  himself  in  the  most 
absolute  disgrace.  While  he  was  in  this  per- 
plexity, it  happened  that  some  of  his  soldiers 
took  captive  a  Parian  female,  one  day,  among 
other  prisoners.  She  proved  to  be  a  priestess, 
from  one  of  the  Parian  temples.  Her  name 
was  Timo.  The  thought  occurred  to  Miltiades 
that,  since  all  human  means  at  his  command 


B.C.  490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.       277 

Miltiades's  interview  with  the  priestess.  Her  instructions. 

had  proved  inadequate  to  accomplish  his  end, 
he  might,  perhaps,  through  this  captive  priest- 
ess, obtain  some  superhuman  aid.  As  she  had 
been  in  the  service  of  a  Parian  temple,  she 
would  naturally  have  an  influence  with  the  di- 
vinities of  the  place,  or,  at  least,  she  would  be 
acquainted  with  the  proper  means  of  propitiat- 
ing their  favor. 

Miltiades,  accordingly,  held  a  private  inter- 
view with  Timo,  and  asked  her  what  he  should 
do  to  propitiate  the  divinities  of  Paros  so  far  as 
to  enable  him  to  gain  possession  of  the  city. 
She  replied  that  she  could  easily  point  out  the 
way,  if  he  would  but  follow  her  instructions. 
Miltiades,  overjoyed,  promised  readily  that  he 
would  do  so.  She  then  gave  him  her  instruc- 
tions secretly.  What  they  were  is  not  known, 
except  so  far  as  they  were  revealed  by  the  oc- 
currences that  followed. 

There  was  a  temple  consecrated  to  the  god- 
dess Ceres  near  to  the  city,  and  so  connected 
with  it,  it  seems,  as  to  be  in  some  measure  in- 
cluded within  the  defenses.  The  approach  to 
this  temple  was  guarded  by  a  palisade.  There 
were,  however,  gates  which  afforded  access,  ex- 
cept when  they  were  fastened  from  within. 
Miltiades,  in  obedience  to  Timo's  instructions, 


278  Darius  the  Great.    [B.C. 490. 

Miltiades  attempts  to  enter  the  temple  of  Ceres.      He  dislocates  a  limb. 

went  privately,  in  the  night,  perhaps,  and  with, 
very  few  attendants,  to  this  temple.  He  at- 
tempted to  enter  by  the  gates,  which  he  had 
expected,  it  seems,  to  find  open.  They  were, 
however,  fastened  against  him.  He  then  un- 
dertook to  scale  the  palisade.  He  succeeded  in 
doing  this,  not,  however,  without  difficulty,  and 
then  advanced  toward  the  temple,  in  obedience 
to  the  instructions  which  he  had  received  from 
Timo.  The  account  states  that  the  act,  what- 
ever it  was,  that  Timo  had  directed  him  to  per- 
form, instead  of  being,  as  he  supposed,  a  means 
of  propitiating  the  favor  of  the  divinity,  was 
sacrilegious  and  impious  ;  and  Miltiades,  as  he 
approached  the  temple,  was  struck  suddenly 
with  a  mysterious  and  dreadful  horror  of  mind, 
which  wholly  overwhelmed  him.  Rendered  al- 
most insane  by  this  supernatural  remorse  and 
terror,  he  turned  to  fly.  He  reached  the  pali- 
sade, and,  in  endeavoring  to  climb  over  it,  his 
precipitation  and  haste  caused  him  to  fall.  His 
attendants  ran  to  take  him  up.  He  was  help- 
less and  in  great  pain.  They  found  he  had  dis- 
located a  joint  in  one  of  his  limbs.  He  receiv- 
ed, of  course,  every  possible  attention  ;  but,  in- 
stead of  recovering  from  the  injury,  he  found 
that  the  consequences  of  it  became  more  and 


B.C.  490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.       279 

Miltiades  returns  to  Athens.  He  is  impeached. 

more  serious  every  day.  In  a  word,  the  great 
conqueror  of  the  Persians  was  now  wholly  over- 
thrown, and  lay  moaning  on  his  couch  as  help- 
less as  a  child. 

.  He  soon  determined  to  abandon  the  sie^e  of 
Paros  and  return  to  Athens.  He  had  been 
about  a  month  upon  the  island,  and  had  laid 
waste  the  rural  districts,  but,  as  the  city  had 
made  good  its  defense  against  him,  he  returned 
without  any  of  the  rich  spoil  which  he  had 
promised.  ■  The  disappointment  which  the  peo- 
ple of  Athens  experienced  on  his  arrival,  turn- 
ed soon  into  a  feeling  of  hostility  against  the 
author  of  the  calamity.  Miltiades  found  that 
the  fame  and  honor  which  he  had  gained  at 
Marathon  were  gone.  They  had  been  lost  al- 
most as  suddenly  as  they  had  been  acquired. 
The  rivals  and  enemies  who  had  been  silenced 
by  his  former  success  were  now  brought  out 
and  made  clamorous  against  him  by  his  present 
failure.  They  attributed  the  failure  to  his  own 
mismanagement  of  the  expedition,  and  one  ora- 
tor, at  length,  advanced  articles  of  impeachment 
against  him,  on  a  charge  of  having  been  bribed 
by  the  Persians  to  make  his  siege  of  Paros  only 
a  feint.  Miltiades  could  not  defend  himself 
from  these  criminations,  for  he  was  lying,  at 


280  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 490. 

Milliades  is  condemned.  He  dies  of  his  wound. 

the  time,  in  utter  helplessness,  upon  his  couch 
of  pain.  The  dislocation  of  the  limb  had  end- 
ed in  an  open  wound,  which  at  length,  having 
resisted  all  the  attempts  of  the  physicians  to 
stop  its  progress,  had  begun  to  mortify,  and  the 
life  of  the  sufferer  was  fast  ebbing  away.  His 
son  Cimon  did  all  in  his  power  to  save  his  fa- 
ther from  both  the  dangers  that  threatened  him. 
He  defended  his  character  in  the  public  tribu- 
nals, and  he  watched  over  his  person  in  the  cell 
in  the  prison.  These  filial  efforts  were,  how- 
ever, in  both  cases  unavailing.  Miltiades  was 
condemned  by  the  tribunal,  and  he  died  of  his 
wound. 

The  penalty  exacted  of  him  by  the  sentence 
was  a  very  heavy  fine.  The  sum  demanded 
was  the  amount  which  the  expedition  to  Paros 
had  cost  the  city,  and  which,  as  it  had  been  lost 
through  the  agency  of  Miltiades,  it  was  adjudg- 
ed that  he  should  refund.  This  sentence,  as 
well  as  the  treatment  in  general  which  Miltiades 
received  from  Ins  countrymen,  has  been  since 
considered  by  mankind  as  very  unjust  and  cruel. 
It  was,  however,  only  following  out,  somewhat 
rigidly,  it  is  true,  the  essential  terms  and  con- 
ditions of  a  military  career.  It  results  from 
principles  inherent  in  the  very  nature  of  war, 


B.C.490.]  The  Death  of  Darius.       281 

The  fine  paid.  Proposed  punishment  of  Timo. 

that  we  are  never  to  look  for  the  ascendency  of 
justice  and  humanity  in  any  thing  pertaining 
to  it.  It  is  always  power,  and  not  right,  that 
determines  possession  ;  it  is  success,  not  merit, 
that  gains  honors  and  rewards ;  and  they  who 
assent  to  the  genius  and  spirit  of  military  rule 
thus  far,  must  not  complain  if  they  find  that, 
on  the  same  principle,  it  is  failure  and  not  crime 
which  hrings  condemnation  and  destruction. 

When  Miltiades  was  dead,  Cimon  found  that 
he  could  not  receive  his  father's  hody  for  honor- 
able interment  unless  he  paid  the  fine.  He  had 
no  means,  himself,  of  doing  this.  He  succeed- 
ed, however,  at  length,  in  raising  the  amount, 
by  soliciting  contributions  from  the  family 
friends  of  his  father.  He  paid  the  fine  into  the 
city  treasury,  and  then  the  body  of  the  hero 
was  deposited  in  its  long  home. 

The  Parians  were  at  first  greatly  incensed 
against  the  priestess  Timo,  as  it  seemed  to 
them  that  she  had  intended  to  betray  the  city 
to  Miltiades.  They  wished  to  put  her  to  death, 
but  they  did  not  dare  to  do  it.  It  might  be  con- 
sidered an  impious  sacrilege  to  punish  a  priest- 
ess. They  accordingly  sent  to  the  oracle  at 
Delphi  to  state  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
and  to  inquire  if  they  might  lawfully  put  the 


282  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 490. 

Timo  saved  by  the  Delphic  oracle.     Another  expedition  against  Greece. 

priestess  to  death.  She  had  been  guilty,  they 
said,  of  pointing  out  to  an  enemy  the  mode  by 
which  he  might  gain  possession  of  their  city ; 
and,  what  was  worse,  she  had,  in  doing  so,  at- 
tempted to  admit  him  to  those  solemn  scenes 
and  mysteries  in  the  temple  which  it  was  not 
lawful  for  any  man  to  behold.  The  oracle  re- 
plied that  the  priestess  must  not  be  punished, 
for  she  had  done  no  wrong.  It  had  been  de- 
creed by  the  gods  that  Miltiades  should  be  de- 
stroyed, and  Timo  had  been  employed  by  them 
as  the  involuntary  instrument  of  conducting 
him  to  his  fate.  The  people  of  Paros  acqui- 
esced in  this  decision,  and  Timo  was  set  free. 

But  to  return  to  Darius.  His  desire  to  sub- 
due the  Greeks  and  to  add  then  country  to  Ins 
dominions,  and  his  determination  to  accomplish 
his  purpose,  were  increased  and  strengthened, 
not  diminished,  by  the  repulse'  which  his  army 
had  met  with  at  the  first  invasion.  He  was 
greatly  incensed  against  the  Athenians,  as  if 
he  considered  their  courage  and  energy  in 
defending  their  country  an  audacious  outrage 
against  himself,  and  a  crime.  He  resolved  to 
organize  a  new  expedition,  still  greater  and 
more  powerful  than  the  other.     Of  this  arma- 


B.C. 485.]  The  Death  of  Darius.       283 

Preparations.  Necessity  for  settling  the  succession. 

ment  he  determined  to  take  the  command  him- 
self in  person,  and  to  make  the  preparations  for 
it  on  a  scale  of  such  magnitude  as  that  the  ex- 
pedition  should  be  worthy  to  be  led  by  the  great 
sovereign  of  half  the  world.  He  accordingly 
transmitted  orders  to  all  the  peoples,  nations, 
languages,  and  realms,  in  all  his  dominions,  to 
raise  their  respective  quotas  of  troops,  horses,, 
ships,  and  munitions  of  war,  and  prepare  to  as- 
semble at  such  place  of  rendezvous  as  he  should 
designate  when  all  should  be  ready. 

Some  years  elapsed  before  these  arrange- 
ments were  matured,  and  when  at  last  the 
time  seemed  to  have  arrived  for  carrying  his 
plans  into  effect,  he  deemed  it  necessary,  before 
he  commenced  his  march,  to  settle  the  succes- 
sion of  his  kingdom  ;  for  he  had  several  sons, 
who  might  each  claim  the  throne,  and  involve 
the  empire  in  disastrous  civil  wars  in  attempt- 
ing to  enforce  their  claims,  in  case  he  should 
never  return.  The  historians  say  that  there 
was  a  law  of  Persia  forbidding  the  sovereign  to 
leave  the  realm  without  previously  fixing  upon 
a  successor.  It  is  difficult  to  see,  however,  by 
what  power  or  authority  such  a  law  could  have 
been  enacted,  or  to  believe  that  monarchs  like 
Darius  would  recognize  an  abstract  obligation 
to  law  of  any  kind,  in  respect  to  their  own  po- 


284  Darius  the  Great.   [B.C. 485. 

Darius's  two  sons.  Their  claims  to  the  throne. 

litical  action.  There  is  a  species  of  law  regu- 
lating the  ordinary  dealings  between  man  and 
man,  that  springs  up  in  all  communities,  wheth- 
er savage  or  civilized,  from  custom,  and  from 
the  action  of  judicial  tribunals,  which  the  most 
despotic  and  absolute  sovereigns  feel  themselves 
bound,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  private  affairs  of 
their  subjects,  to  respect  and  uphold ;  but,  in 
regard  to  their  own  personal  and  governmental 
acts  and  measures,  they  very  seldom  know  any 
other  authority  than  the  impulses  of  their  own 
sovereign  will. 

Darius  had  several  sons,  among  whom  there 
were  two  who  claimed  the  right  to  succeed 
their  father  on  the  throne.  One  was  the  oldest 
son  of  a  wife  whom  Darius  had  married  before 
he  became  king.  His  name  was  Artobazanes. 
The  other  was  the  son  of  Atossa,  the  daughter 
of  Cyrus,  whom  Darius  had  married  after  his 
accession  to  the  throne.  His  name  was  Xerxes. 
Artobazanes  claimed  that  he  was  entitled  to  be 
his  father's  heir,  since  he  was  his  oldest  son. 
Xerxes,  on  the  other  hand,  maintained  that,  at 
the  period  of  the  birth  of  Artobazanes,  Darius 
was  not  a  king.  He  was  then  in  a  private  sta- 
tion, and  sons  could  properly  inherit  only  what 
their  fathers  possessed  at  the  time  when  they 
were  born.     He  himself,  on  the  other  hand,  was 


B.C. 485.]  The  Death  of  Darius.      285 

Xerxes  declared  heir.  Death  of  Darius. 

the  oldest  son  which  his  father  had  had,  being" 
a  king,  and  he  was,  consequently,  the  true 
inheritor  of  the  kingdom.  Besides,  being  the 
son  of  Atossa,  he  was  the  grandson  of  Cyrus, 
and  the  hereditary  rights,  therefore,  of  that  great 
founder  of  the  empire  had  descended  to  him. 

Darius  decided  the  question  in  favor  of  Xerx- 
es, and  then  made  arrangements  for  commenc- 
ing his  march,  with  a  mind  full  of  the  elation 
and  pride  which  were  awakened  by  the  grand- 
eur of  his  position  and  the  magnificence  of  his 
schemes.  -These  schemes,  however,  he  did  not 
live  to  execute.  He  suddenly  fell  sick  and  died, 
just  as  he  was  ready  to  set  out  upon  his  expe- 
dition, and  Xerxes,  his  son,  reigned  in  his  stead. 

Xerxes  immediately  took  command  of  the 
vast  preparations  which  his  father  had  made, 
and  went  on  with  the  prosecution  of  the  enter- 
prise. The  expedition  which  followed  deserves, 
probably,  in  respect  to  the  numbers  engaged  in 
it,  the  distance  which  it  traversed,  the  im- 
menseness  of  the  expenses  involved,  and  the 
magnitude  of  its  results,  to  be  considered  the 
greatest  military  undertaking  which  human 
ambition  and  power  have  ever  attempted  to  ef- 
fect. The  narrative,  however,  both  of  its  splen- 
did adventures  and  of  its  ultimate  fate,  belongs 
to  the  history  of  Xerxes. 


286  Darius  the  Great.  [B.C. 485. 

Character  of  Darius.  Ground  of  his  renown. 

The  greatness  of  Darius  was  the  greatness  of 
position  and  not  of  character.  He  was  the  ab- 
solute sovereign  of  nearly  half  the  world,  and, 
as  such,  was  held  up  very  conspicuously  to  the 
attention  of  mankind,  who  gaze  with  a  strong 
feeling  of  admiration  and  awe  upon  these  vast 
elevations  of  power,  as  they  do  upon  the  sum- 
mits of  mountains,  simply  because  they  are 
high.  Darius  performed  ho  great  exploit,  and 
he  accomplished  no  great  object  while  he  lived  ; 
and  he  did  not  even  leave  behind  him  any  strong 
impressions  of  personal  character.  There  is  in 
his  history,  and  in  the  position  which  he  occu- 
pies in  the  minds  of  men,  greatness  without 
dignity,  success  without  merit,  vast  and  long- 
continued  power  without  effects  accomplished 
or  objects  gained,  and  universal  and  perpetual 
renown  without  honor  or  applause.  The  world 
admire  Caesar,  Hannibal,  Alexander,  Alfred,  and 
Napoleon  for  the  deeds  which  they  performed. 
They  admire  Darius  only  on  account  of  the  el- 
evation on  which  he  stood.  In  the  same  lofty 
position,  they  would  have  admired,  probably, 
just'  as  much,  the  very  horse  whose  neighing 
placed  him  there. 

The  End. 


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